


Locked In

by SupernaturalWinchester67



Series: Locked In [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Detectives, Explicit Language, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Kidnapping, Self-Worth Issues, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-08-09 01:42:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16440656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SupernaturalWinchester67/pseuds/SupernaturalWinchester67
Summary: Dean Winchester is a gruff cop who does what he wants. The reader starts a new, non-officer position at his police station where the two are at each other’s throats from the moment they meet. Until one day Dean and the reader are stuck together and Dean is forced to confront his feelings. The pair seem to attract trouble at every turn as they navigate the ups and downs of their relationship, learning that saving someone comes in more than one way…





	1. Chapter 1

“Morning, Y/N,” said Bryce as he came into the break room. You gave him a friendly smile.

“Morning, rookie,” you said to him, pulling a bemused chuckle from him.

“You’ve been here two weeks and I’m the rookie?” he said as you passed him the coffee pot. You gave him room as you put some milk and cream in your cup.

“Them’s the rules, rookie,” you joked as he just nodded and smirked. He took a sip out of his steaming cup before leaning back against the counter.

“You fit in well around here,” he said. You’d started as office support for the overworked department in your town a few weeks back and already loved your job. The work itself wasn’t that interesting but you’d started to become good friends with most of your co-workers.

“Everybody’s been really nice,” you said, leaning back against the wall when you saw a man come in. He was tall, probably a little older than yourself, definitely older than the eighteen year old you were currently talking to.

“Rookie, don’t bring your girlfriend in the break room. Have the decency to go out to her car if you wanna screw,” he said, brushing past you and headed straight for the coffee.

“Good to see you enjoyed your vacation, Detective Winchester. Also, that’s not my girlfriend, that’s Y/N,” said Bryce. “She works here now.” Winchester turned to look at you before turning back to the young man. Bryce along with all the others had warned you about him. He was an amazing cop but still an asshole for the most part.

“Why isn’t she in uniform? God knows they’d never give me a partner,” he said, growling slightly when only a little bit of coffee poured out.

“I’m not a cop. I run the office now,” you said. He scoffed and stared you down.

“Shouldn’t you be heading out on patrol, rookie?” he said. Bryce rolled his eyes behind the detective’s back but gave you a friendly wave as he walked out. When it was just the two of you, you realized you felt like you were in an interrogation room.

“So Detective Winchester-” you said before he thrust the coffee pot in your hands.

“Coffee’s empty,” he said, crossing his arms. You tossed it at his chest as he caught it without breaking your gaze.

“I run the office, Dean,” you said, seeing him glare when you’d called him by his first name. “I’m not a secretary. You can make your own coffee like an adult,” you said, crossing your arms and hardening your face. Neither of you backed down when Dean’s radio came to life in his jacket pocket.

“Sorry, some of us have people to save. Maybe next time tell the kid to refill for the rest of us?” he said, making sure to bump into your shoulder when he passed you.

“You, Detective Dean Winchester are going to be a pain in my ass,” you said, grumbling as you filled up the pot for the next, actually nice, person.

 

It was your seventh week, a cold and rainy November day when Detective Winchester walked in, dripping water everywhere. He made sure to shake himself in his raincoat as he passed by your desk. You groaned as you saw him walk to the back of the station to his office. 

“There’s water leaking from the ceiling!” you heard him yell as you snickered. A few others nearby looked surprised for only a moment before returning to their work. You and Dean Winchester had been giving each other shit since that very first coffee incident and it’d turned into entertainment for everyone else. Even your boss thought it was funny. “Y/N! Get in here!”

You rolled your eyes but stood and walked over to his office. From the door way you could see a spot dripping right where his chair was.

“Need a bucket, Detective Winchester?” you asked, as he stood besides his desk fuming. 

“I’m working from your desk today,” he said, grabbing his laptop and heading out the door.

“Where am I supposed to work?” you said, heading straight towards the chief’s office. Dean laughed.

“He’s on vacation for the next three weeks. Guess who’s in charge?” said Dean, a cocky smile on his face. Three weeks without the chief?

“They’ll kill each other,” you heard Bryce mumble to his partner. He smirked.

“More like bang each other first,” he said, both you and Dean glaring at them.

“Car 03, get your asses out on patrol,” said Dean, waving the two men off. “Everybody get out on their patrols,” he said to the two other officers who were at their desks.

“They just worked the night shift. They’re on their way home,” you said. You saw the four officers leave hastily, not sure if they’d come back to find two bodies on the floor.

“You can have your desk back,” he said, standing and putting his laptop on a now empty desk. “Your chair’s too short for me anyways,” he said, making sure he got nice and close so he could look down at you as he walked by. You rolled your eyes but kept your mouth shut. You two had all day to fight after all.

A few hours later you were hungry and went to the break room for a mid-morning snack, the constant hard rain and the howl of the wind the only thing breaking the noise between you and Dean. You’d realized very quickly he didn’t have anything to do as he spun in his chair and tossed a ball up and down. He’d catch you staring at him every so often and pretend to do work but you honestly didn’t care, as long as he wasn’t annoying you.

“Hey!” you said as you walked into the break room, seeing Dean eating your yogurt. “That’s mine!”

“Want it back?” he said, sucking the spoon and swirling it around in the cup. He squinted at you before taking another large spoonful.

“Asshole,” you said as you turned to leave, Dean’s hand grabbing your arm.

“What did you just say?” he said, as if he’d never heard you swear at him before, as if you’d never heard him do the same to you.

“I said-” you got out before you both heard Dean’s radio crackle to life.

“What?” he yelled into it as you shook off his arm and went back to your desk. You heard him follow you as you sat down, trying to ignore him. He stood on the opposite side of you as you both listened to the call. “What the hell do you mean storm warning? It’s fucking rain, rookie,” said Dean.

“Well, weather service has a travel ban out. You and Y/N are stuck there until morning sir,” said Bryce. You were about to lose it on him but Dean did that for you.

“It’s only 11 in the morning now! There better be hail the size of your head coming down if you want me to stay in this place with her a whole damn day!” he practically yelled into the radio. You always knew he didn’t like you but damn, he actually hated you. You really wished that didn’t make you feel as crappy as it did.

“Sorry sir. You two are trapped the next 24 hours. Try to ride out the storm in one piece,” he said before ending the call. You started doing work again, watching Dean pace back and forth down the row of desks, around the few halls of the building. After a while, you also ran out of things to do, just sitting as you listened to the building rattle.

By six Dean still hadn’t spoken to you again, instead opting to hide in his office or the break room or bathroom or anywhere you weren’t. By eight you’d decided the break room would be your best bet for sleeping since it had no windows as you rolled around in your chair.

“Eat,” said Dean all of a sudden, dropping a protein bar on your lap as you sat in your chair in the middle of the aisle. You looked up at him curiously. “You eat yogurt for a snack everyday and have lunch out at the diner nearby. You didn’t have either today,” he said. You skeptically held the bar before tossing it back to him. 

“Not hungry,” you lied as your stomach grumbled. Dean looked pissed.

“Last time I try to help you,” he said, walking away again. The power finally went out as you heard Dean trip and fall to the ground.

“You okay?” you asked, turning on the lantern that sat on your desk. Dean popped up a few feet away, holding a hand to his head.

“Like you give a fuck,” he said bluntly, taking a flashlight off your desk and walking away. You wanted to come up with some witty comment but you were done, not wanting to find out how far he would dig into you once he got going.

You weren’t really tired but wanted to set up something to lie on when you went to the supply area, looking for blankets. That’s when you saw Dean, lounging on the floor of the break room, looking at his phone.

You dropped your head as you realized you were going to have to sleep at your desk. It would have been safer to be somewhere less exposed but your only other option was the bathroom and that wasn’t happening. Quietly you opened up the supply closet, not wanting Dean to realize you’d come back to where he was and sighed in defeat. As you came back past the break room, you saw Dean with the blankets,  _all_  the blankets.

You threw on your zip up you kept at your desk but that was all you had as you sat on the floor for the first time, groaning when you discovered how cold and hard it was.

“Can’t this night be over with already?” you said quietly, tucking your arms around yourself. You stayed that way for a while until you got tired, but you were shivering slightly as the whole building shook. Your hood was up and you were staring at the ground in front of you when you suddenly saw a pair of socks appear.

You tilted your head up just in time to see Dean leaning down, grabbing you by the arm roughly. You jerked back out of instinct but Dean was strong and you weren’t getting out of his hold unless you hurt him. He didn’t even bother giving you one of his classic disgruntled glares as he dragged you behind him into the break room. You weren’t sure what he was doing when he sat you down on something soft and warm. Looking with your flashlight, he’d made a kind of bedding with the cushions from the chief’s sofa and shock blankets.

“I can hear you shivering out there,” he said, standing over you. You didn’t waste anytime standing up, heading straight for the door. Dean stepped in front of you, blocking your exit. “You aren’t leaving this room.”

“Rather freeze than be stuck with you,” you said, turning and walking towards the other door. You felt something grab your hood roughly.

“I get that you hate me but it’s not safe out there,” he said. Thankfully it was just a zip up and you had gotten out of the thing before Dean knew what had happened. “Y/N!”

“Just give me a break Winchester,” you groaned. “I stayed away from you all day like you wanted, let me-” you stopped when you felt one of his hands grab your wrist and the other slide something over it. He was calculated, having done it many times before as you heard the sound of the zip ties tightening around you. “You did not just restrain me,” you said, Dean’s hand on your shoulder, the other on your bicep.

“Start behaving and I might just untie you,” he said, walking you back into the break room, setting you down on the bedding. You growled as you pulled your hands against the plastic. “Stop, you’ll cut up your wrists,” he warned, looking dangerous. You only strained harder, your hands already starting to feel prickles of pain. “That’s an order,” he said loudly.

“Untie me,” you demanded as he shook his head. “I’m reporting your ass to county,” you said, watching him shut one door to the break room, then the other.

“Go ahead, still not letting you out,” he said, taking a seat across from you. You shut your eyes, knowing you would never be able to sleep in that position.

“Fine, I’ll stay in here,” you said but he didn’t budge. “How much do you hate me that you’d make me sleep like this?” you asked, keeping the waver out of your voice that threatened to break through. Then it was back, one of his stares and you resigned yourself to being completely at his mercy, closing your eyes to try and will yourself into sleep. Until you felt a lighter touch on your arm, moving your forward as the small room was filled with a loud snip, your hands free.

“Don’t touch them,” said Dean, opening up a bottom cupboard and pulling out a first aid kit. Your wrists burned and even in the small light the lantern gave off, you could see how you should have listened to him, the skin marked red. Dean made quick work of wrapping them up carefully.

“Thanks,” you muttered as you sat back against the wall, Dean taking a seat besides you.

“If you had stayed in here, I wouldn’t have had to do that,” he said, an edge to his voice. He shifted his body and his shoulder touched yours.

“I didn’t feel like hanging out with someone that despises me,” you said, not caring if you sounded defeated.

“I don’t despise you, Y/N,” he said quietly, pulling a chuckle from you.

“Yes you do. You told Bryce you couldn’t stand to be locked in here with me for a whole day. You hate me,” you said, turning to face him. His face wasn’t hard set like you’d come to expect from him.

“That’s why I offered you the only food in this place, brought you in here so you’d be safe and warm and comfortable, because I hate you,” he said, his voice laced with sarcasm. 

“That’s you trying to be nice because we’re trapped. Any other day, you’re stealing my food, shaking your coat off on me, treating me like it’s my job to wait on you hand and foot,” you said, wishing you could move away from him. He’d probably just tie you up again.

“I’m not a bad person,” he said after a long silence. “I’m just not good at being a good one.” You didn’t know how to respond to such a sudden admission from him so you looked at him, seeing his steely facade crack slightly. “I must be awful if you won’t even lie and say I’m a good guy.”

“You’re very good at your job, Detective Winchester,” you said softly, a scoff escaping him as he shook his head. “But Dean, you’re probably the most scared human being I’ve ever met.”

His head whipped around faster than you thought possible, his eyes furrowed in confusion and anger.

“What the hell am I scared of? You know what I deal with every day out there,” said Dean, waving his arms about. You shook your head.

“You’re not scared of catching criminals. It’s the human stuff, the morning chit chat over coffee, the in-jokes, being friends. If you were my friend, I wouldn’t get pissed if you ate my yogurt every once in a while. I’d probably offer it to you,” you said. His head dropped as he stared at his lap.

“Want to know something pathetic?” he said with a sad smile. “You’re the closest thing I have to a friend, to…something,” he said, avoiding your eyes. 

“You could try being nicer to me ya know. People are normally nice to their friends,” you said, shoving his arm gently, trying to get him to meet your gaze. 

“I don’t want to be your friend,” he said quietly. Instinctively you shifted away. He could have lied to you at least, get you through the night, but you’d almost let yourself forget this was Detective Dean Winchester, the man who hated you.

You stood and grabbed a blanket, moving to the other side of the room, as far from him as possible. 

“What are you doing?” he asked, like he hadn’t said anything beforehand.

“I don’t want to be your friend either. Sorry I tried being nice, asshole,” you said, wrapping the blanket around yourself and leaning into the corner. Dean let out a few different noises as he collected himself.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” he said, standing up to get closer.

“I’m in the damn room, you gonna tie me to you too?” you mocked. “You stay over there, I stay over here, in the morning you can go back to harassing me.” 

“I told you, I’m not good at being good,” he said, a little bitterness in his voice, like you cared.

“I’m tired of fighting with you, Dean. I give up, you win. You broke me, congrats. Now leave me alone,” you said, turning your body away from him. You could feel him get closer and closer until he brushed against you. You threw your blanket off and turned to see him kneeling beside you. “Personal space you-”

Well you hadn’t expected him to kiss you. Everything about him was so hard you didn’t realize how his skin could be that soft, his hand on your cheek so gentle. You let him kiss you, the shock of it sending your head spinning. He pulled back after a short while, searching your eyes as his thumb brushed your cheekbone.

“I’m mean to you because I like you and I don’t want to. You’re going to hurt me, you hurt me everyday because you make me feel things I don’t want to, I don’t want to be close to anyone. It’s dangerous to do that. If you hate me, its easier. If you’re my friend, I’m a goner,” he said, his voice ragged. “I can’t be your friend because I want to love you and that terrifies me.”

“You have freckles,” you said, taking in his face properly for the first time. He growled.

“Did you hear me?” he snarled, attempting to cover up his moment of weakness.

“Yeah, you’re acting like a little boy because you like me. Your eyes are a very pretty shade of green you know,” you said, not entirely sure why you were pointing out his appearance to him.

“You should know why-”

“Are you going to be nice now?” you asked. Dean dropped his hand from your face, resting it on your shoulder.

“What?” he asked. You shrugged, feeling the weight on him on you.

“Your odds of getting a date are better if you’re nice,” you said, watching his adam apple bob as he gulped.

“I don’t want to like you, understand?” he said, still keeping his hand on you.

“I’m going to bed. Wake me up if you decide to grow a pair,” you said scooting back to the bedding and lying down. Dean grumbled as you heard him scold himself behind you and the cushion behind you dipped under his weight. You moved over to give him more room and felt him press up behind you.

“Night,” he said quietly. You nodded in response before you both were quiet, the storm the only sounds filling the silence.

 

When you woke up, Dean was no where in sight but Bryce was not too far away filling up the coffee. Squinting, you saw the power was back on.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” he said with a smile. You groaned as you sat up and cracked your back.

“I see the world didn’t end out there,” you said, wiping away the dried drool on your face. Bryce gave you the mug of caffeine which you gladly accepted.

“Nobody got hurt thankfully, they brought in some people from county to help with clean up. You and Detective Winchester didn’t murder each other? We had bets going. My money was on you,” he said.

“No we uh, left each other alone for the most part,” you said. There was no use in letting him know what went on last night, nothing would be different between you and Dean, he’d made that clear. “We should get out there, I’m sure we’ll be busy today,” you said, exiting the break room.

You hadn’t been at your desk more than five seconds when you heard it.

“Y/N! Get in here!” yelled Dean from his office and you rolled your eyes, the few officers in the room giving you apologetic looks. You made your way over to his office and stepped inside.

“Yes, Detective Winchester?” you asked, a little more defeated sounding than you would have liked. He was still in his clothes from the day before, his hair a little messy as you realized you probably had a lot of bed head going on.

“Take the day off, Y/N. Go home, make sure your house is okay,” he said, the edge out of his voice. “Eat something,” he said with a small smile. 

“But sir, there’s storm cleanup, you need me to coordinate-”

“We got it covered. Take the day off, recoup, for me, okay, Y/N?” he asked. Where the hell was this coming from?

“I’ll take the morning off, come back after lunch,” you said but Dean tsked you.

“You’ve got plans this afternoon,” he said, a little quieter so passerbys couldn’t hear. “I was hoping you’d let that asshole detective take you to dinner, maybe teach him a thing or two about being good?”

“Is that an order, Detective Winchester?” you said with a grin. He looked hesitant. “I’m joking.”

“Is that a yes?” he said, raising an eyebrow. 

“I’ll see you at six,” you said, giving him a quick smile before heading out the door. 

It was just a date, just one little date with the man who’d made your heart stop more than once in the past few weeks. A date with the man who’d made it stop again when he’d kissed you the night before. He didn’t need to know you were just as scared as him about the idea of being close to someone…right?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reader finds herself stuck with Detective Winchester once again…

Six months ago, the now infamous storm that knocked down half the town’s power lines, destroyed most suburban roofs and provided everyone with enough fallen lumber to last a lifetime, was a painful memory to you. 

There you were, sitting on the floor, a deep rage that eerily calmed you, filling your entire being. If you’d kept hating Detective Dean Winchester, you’d still be in that town, still be at the job you loved, with the people you loved working with. Your hands certainly wouldn’t be balled up in fists so tight the bone shone through under the thin layer of skin.

You kept your head down, staring at the tile floor, watching the occasional pair of feet that walked by. The black pair with a splash of navy blue paint you’d kept telling him to clean off caught your attention the most. But you kept your head down because you didn’t know what the hell was going on.

“Fuck,” you heard one of the voices say when a gruffer one responded.

“We always knew the cops would show up. That’s why we have these,” it said, the sound of a gun cocking filling the otherwise silent space. “Let’s show them we aren’t afraid to use them if we have to,” it said, a pair of footsteps getting closer.

The voice said nothing as the black pair of boots stopped in front of you, making you very aware of their presence. You weren’t moving an inch as you felt a familiar rough hand grab your arm, yanking you upwards.

“You’re coming with me sweetheart,” said Dean as he twisted your body violently around so you were in front of him. One of his hands pinned your arm to your chest, trapped under his much stronger one as he pressed against your throat. You let out a whimper without meaning to, your slight moment of panic making him and his partner laugh.

“I think you got a feisty one,” the other man said with a wink as you felt something cold and metal press against your head. You stilled as you realized what it was.

“Smart one too,” said Dean darkly, his body moving you forward roughly and away from the rest of the group. “Do what I say and you won’t get hurt…much,” he loudly growled in your ear.

“Fuck you,” you spat back, not caring he had a gun to your head. You figured you were pissed off enough at Dean Winchester to take him down. A little pressure on your throat though made you remember how incapacitated you were.

“Go show ‘em before they rush in here, make ‘em think twice,” said Dean’s partner as you were forced forward, Dean’s breath hot on the back of you neck. He moved you through the halls, out towards the exposed section of the front of the bank far away from everyone.

“I’m going to kick your-”

“Shut up and do what I say,” he whispered in your ear, so quiet you barely heard. “You’re going to get hurt and I will spend forever making that up to you but please, fucking listen to me, Y/N. There are a hell of a lot of people back there and I need your help. Save the ass kicking for when we get out of this,” said Dean, a touch of softness in his angry voice. That was when you realized he’d pulled the gun away from your head.

“Don’t tell me you’re under-”

“No, I really can’t stand the way you hog the bathroom in the morning or your appalling cooking,” he said deadpanned. “Of course, I’m under. Why else would I break things off? I love you, Y/N. Safer this way,” he said as he stopped before the two of you were in view of the doors.

“Pretty big assumption that I’ll take you back, asshole,” you said, that pit in your stomach of his sudden departure making sense finally. “Left me alone in this big city,” you said, not letting yourself relax around him, afraid you’d get too comfortable and tip off his partner. Dean nodded against you, knowing you had to in order for whatever he had planned to work.

“I’ll apologize later. Right now I have to shoot you,” he said, pulling you out into view of a dozen cop cars, red and blue lights filling the dark space. Dean was talking, yelling or demanding something but you were more focused on the fact that he said he was about to shoot you.

You didn’t hear the warning Dean gave as you felt the weapon drop from the side of your head and brush against your arm. You would have wretched forward had Dean not had you pinned to his chest. Something primal came from your mouth as your brain registered the hot metal that had tore through the flesh of your upper right arm. Well, you certainly didn’t have to worry about acting now.

Dean said something else as he pulled you back quickly into the shadows, the pain becoming more tolerable as your fury built.

“Sorry,” he whispered as he brought you towards the back where a very scared group of people sat waiting. “She’s a screamer, that’s for sure,” said Dean as he threw you down on your good arm, your body backing up instinctively from the thing that had hurt you. Dean nearly broke at that and you knew then just how much it was killing him to act this way.

“Like you’ve ever made any woman scream,” you said cockily, staring him down as you squeezed your bleeding arm. It’d taken you a minute to realize but Dean had only grazed you, a deep gash in your arm instead of a full blown bullet hole. Dean’s partner made a move towards you but Dean waved him off.

“She’s mine,” he said, something in that statement meant to reassure you. Dean’s partner went back to packing up the money but Dean only watched, keeping his eyes on the group for any potential heroes when you smiled. That’s why you were by yourself, not with them. He’d picked you as that person that would be stupid enough to try something.

“Come on, lock ‘em in and take that one with us in case,” said Dean’s partner as he slid over a heavy looking duffel. Dean looked like he was about to protest but you weren’t going to let him blow his cover.

“Sorry, blonde’s are more my type,” you said, squinting at the black haired man. He seemed to growl at you but Dean made his way over to you quickly.

“You handle the money, I’ll handle her,” said Dean, his hands pulling yours into a pair of zip ties but loose enough you could get out if you tried. The other man didn’t seem to like to take orders from him but resigned himself nonetheless. 

As soon as Dean had separated the three of you from the other’s you could see something in him shift, now the only person he had to save was you and you could have sworn his partner felt it too.

“How about I handle the girl?” he said, stopping in the hall, dropping his bags and turning to face the two of you. Dean’s hand that was fisted in your shirt collar tightened roughly.

“I have an idea,” you said suddenly, knowing that Dean was about to be found out. “You, uh…” you said, nodding in the other man’s direction.

“How about we go with John,” he said and you smiled, feeling Dean slip the zip tie from your wrists. 

“Okay, John, how about you handle the money and let the young guy take me. I might hurt your ego if I wriggle away,” you said, Dean’s grip on you so tight now your shirt was starting to choke you. John’s anger finally boiled over, like you wanted, as he got right in your face.

Or where your face was supposed to be. Dean pulled you back harshly as he collided his fist with John’s head, knocking him out with the one blow. Dean shook his hand out as he tied up John and made sure you were okay.

“I’ve had to listen to that guy for the past month,” he said, holding out a hand to help you stand. You took it happily, giving him a moment before you slapped him across the face. You could see his face turn red and his one eye well up with tears for a moment before blinking them away. “Deserved that,” he said sheepishly.

“You deserve a lot more,” you said, leaning against a wall to catch your breath. Dean took only a moment to look ashamed. “I know, you’ve got crap to do. I’ll yell at you more at home.”

“I can come home?” he asked. Even with all of the emotions running through you right then, you gave him a forgiving smile.

“As long as you promise to never leave again,” you said, giving him a warning glance he understood well. 

“Promise. Let’s go find Agent Phillips out there and convince everyone I’m not some bank robber asshole,” said Dean, moving towards the front of the building.

“Just a regular one,” you said. “You’ve got some serious making up to do for shooting me ya know,” you joked but then saw his face. He’d never forgive himself for that.

“Supposed to pick the healthiest person, just graze them to hold off that douche,” said Dean nodding back. “I walked in and just about blew it when I realized it was going to be you.”

“I forgive you. I’m glad I didn’t yell at you and screw everything up,” you said, Dean leading the two of you towards the front doors.

“I would have thought of something,” he said, stopping again before stepping in view of the officers outside. “Can I make you dinner tonight?” he said, a little smile in his voice.

“God, I’ve missed you,” you said, leaning up and giving him a peck on the lips before stepping outside. You just hoped you wouldn’t have to wait too long that night to take him home for good.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reader and Detective Winchester return to their hometown where they stumble onto trouble…

It hadn’t taken much convincing to get Dean to give up his big city job in favor of returning to your sleepy little town. It’d actually taken nothing at all on your part. Apparently putting you in danger had  _really_  sent him off. All you knew was the day after Dean got out from undercover, he came home with a box of his stuff, some cut up knuckles and a guarantee that both of you had your old jobs waiting for you at the station if you wanted them.

A month later, you were back home, back at your jobs, back living in Dean’s house that fortunately hadn’t sold. Everything was good.

“Big Winchester, little Winchester, this is base, over,” you heard Bryce say as Dean was driving the two of you home late one night.

“What do you want rookie, I’m off shift. And cut it with the cutesy nicknames unless you want paperwork duty for the next month,” said Dean as he picked up his radio, the smallest of smiles crossing his lips as he looked over at you.

“Drunk and disorderly down at Hunter’s Tavern-”

“Send patrol 2, Bryce,” said Dean as he rolled his eyes.

“She’s dealing with a drunk and disorderly at Mac’s. I know it’s near where you guys live,” said Bryce as you nodded your head.

“The guy pukes in the back of my car, you’re cleaning it up,” said Dean as he did a 180 and headed down a side street, putting away his walkie. Dean pulled up outside the deserted looking bar a few minutes later. It was a little after 2 in the morning and you hadn’t expected anyone to still be hanging around.

“What do you need me to do?” you asked, unbuckling your seatbelt. Dean’s hand stopped you and snapped it back in, pulling it tight across you.

“You stay put. I’ll go in, cuff the guy, toss him in back, take him to the station and then we go home. Don’t say anything to him,” Dean said, letting that trace of authority come through in his voice. 

“Yes, sir,” you said, giving him a little salute as he rolled his eyes, letting a hard glare set over them. “I got it, you’re in charge,” you said, watching him relax just so. “Can I come in and use the bathroom at least?” Dean smiled at that as he nodded.

“Just stay behind me until I got the guy taken care of and then you can do whatever you want,” he said, ruffling the top of your head as he turned to exit. You let Dean take the lead as you followed close behind, hearing a laugh from Dean before you got to the bar door. “You’re staring again, aren’t you,” he said.

“You look cute in your uniform and jeans. Not as stuffy as that suit you used to wear,” you chuckled behind him. 

“Behave miss or I might have to take you in for trying to seduce an officer of the law,” he said, turning to face you. You raised an eyebrow as you giggled.

“When we’re home we can do whatever you want Detective Winchester,” you said, seeing one last genuine smile fall over his lips before he turned serious. 

When you entered, it smelled like stale beer and sweat, music playing in the corner as you peaked around Dean to take in the sight before you. Dean could sense you and instantly you found one of his hands twist behind his back to keep you behind him.

“He’s over there,” said the bartender, pointing to a back table where a rambunctious drunk man sat with his equally drunk, but more stoic friend. Dean gave you a glance back that told you to stay by the door as he approached the men. The guy didn’t want to be arrested that was clear as he got argumentative with Dean and stood up to him.

Your heart raced a little when you saw how big the guy was. He was taller than Dean, had a bigger build, looked strong as an ox and for a split second, you were truly afraid he would hurt him. But Dean was good at his job,  _very good_ , and with a little coaxing from his friend and some quick movements from Dean, the guy was cuffed and sitting in a chair in no time.

“Can she use your bathroom?” Dean asked the bartender from across the room. He nodded and pointed the way to you in the back, even though you already knew were it was. You held your breath as a bar bathroom at the end of the night, even in your small town, was not an ideal place to be.

“All set,” you called out as you walked down the hall and back into the room. 

“Get out of here!” you heard Dean yell before you saw him, the panic in his voice something completely foreign to you. No matter how much you wanted to stay and help, you knew he’d kill you if you didn’t listen to his order right that second. You spun on your heels, looking for the backdoor when the stoic drunk appeared, looking sober as ever. You turned the other way, seeing Dean sat at a table as you glanced over, the big guy walking through the front door at that second.

“Oomph,” you let out as you crashed into him hard and fell back on the floor. The bartender was behind Dean, holding his service weapon as you saw Dean struggle against the zip ties that held him in place. His left cheek was swollen and he had a cut above his eye. Someone had clocked him hard when he wasn’t expecting it.

You scrambled back as the big guy advanced, lifting your leg and kicking with all your force as you hit him in the groin. He hit the floor hard as you rolled to the side, barely avoiding being grabbed by the other fake drunk. You heard Dean shout something as you ducked out of his way again and threw a right hook, connecting with his face as you kneed him in the groin and hit his back with your elbow. When you got out of this, you really had to apologize for all the complaining you did when Dean made you take self-defense training with him.

“Stop,” the bartender said as you turned to face him, panting heavily. He had Dean’s gun, pointed right at his head.

“Run,” Dean said, an order in his voice. You shook your head and he growled. “Go!” he yelled. The bartender’s hand came over Dean’s mouth as he told him to be quiet. Dean squirmed underneath him and was shouting but nothing coherent could be heard.

“Shut up,” the bartender told Dean, his thumb and forefinger closing dangerously over his nose for a moment, silently telling him to behave.

“Hurt him and I swear to god it’ll be the last fucking thing you ever do with your pathetic little life,” you said, so forcefully both men stopped and stared. The man released Dean as he inhaled sharply, trying to will himself to calm down. “You obviously want something,” you said as you heard the other two men find it in themselves to get to their feet.

“And here we thought we’d use you to get him to do what we wanted, not the other way around,” said the big guy as the hand fell away from Dean’s mouth. 

“Don’t fucking-” Dean said before a fist hit him across the face. You fought against the side of you that wanted to run over and tell him it was going to be okay, that wanted him to take care of you because right now, he needed your help.

“What do you want,” you reaffirmed, Dean’s eyes pleading with you to forget about him and find a way out.

“There was a breaking and entering last week, Thompson Road,” said the smaller man, the one you knew you could take if it came to that.

“I remember,” you said coldly, letting Dean’s gruff cop self fill you. 

“Your department recovered a gun. We’d like it back,” said the bartender. You glanced at Dean whose gaze was hard. 

“Done. I get you the gun, you give him back unharmed and we go our separate ways,” you said, taking a step towards the bartender. He actually looked impressed at your confidence.

“You got two hours to get it back here,” he said as you took another step forward.

“Two hours, got it,” you said, walking until you were in front of Dean.

“Don’t,” Dean half-growled, half-whined in your ear when you leaned in. What you wouldn’t give to never hear him make that sound again.

“I’ll be back soon, Dean,” you whispered, giving him a kiss to his forehead before pulling away, taking his car keys with you. You were almost at the door when you turned around to face the three men holding Dean. “If one hair on his head is out of place when I get back, don’t think I won’t hesitate to absolutely destroy your lives.”

You didn’t stick around to see their reactions as you exited the building and climbed in the car, speeding out of there and towards the station. Your body shook from adrenaline and fear as you fought back your emotions, afraid they would cripple you.

“Bryce!” you yelled as you threw open the door to the station, walking in to find him there alone. The look on your face must have terrified him as he was rushing to your side. You reiterated the story as fast as you could to him as you called in the chief and three other members of your station, telling them to get their asses in there.

“But, Y/N…” Bryce trailed off when you had a second to breathe. You had an hour and forty one minutes left. 

“Well shit,” you said as you grabbed the closest trash can and threw up as everything finally caught up to you. You felt a little better when you heard tires squeal outside. The entire team showed up in four minutes flat, Bryce constantly trying to get your attention as you shrugged him off. You didn’t need to be coddled right now. You just needed Dean back.

“Did you tell her?” said the chief loudly, more angry than you’d ever seen him in his life. He’d never so much as raised his voice.

“Tell me what?” you said, spinning in a circle. The group looked horrified as you grew more panicked.

“Before you and Dean got in this morning, evidence came by,” said Bryce.

“What the fuck does that mean?” you asked.

“We don’t have the gun and SWAT support is hours away. Dean’s only got us,” said the chief. You spun around and took them each in. The most violent encounter Stu had ever been on was a parking ticket. Lexi was your best officer after Dean but the most she’d ever dealt with was a robbery with a baseball bat. Mark didn’t do shit apart from patrol and give the illusion of safety. Bryce was nice but he was basically a paper pusher. The chief, all he did was fundraise for the town, never actually arresting someone once in his thirty something year career.

The one guy who could have pulled it off was the one you needed to save.

“So he’s screwed,” you said, half-laughing, ready to break down when you resolved yourself to think like Dean. “Wait a minute,” you said, an idea sparking.

“Kid, we’ve got to come up with a game plan,” said the chief as you scurried over to Dean’s office. You opened the door and looked around, pulling open the filing cabinet with Dean’s worst case scenarios. 

“Dean already did,” you said, grabbing a folder and running out into the room. “He gets bored like the rest of us and he makes up these little plans for different places around town in case shit goes down,” you said, opening the folder and unfolding a piece of paper.

“Why don’t I know about this?” asked the chief as you rolled your eyes. 

“Because nothing bad happens here. It’s a mental exercise for him. I’m not positive this is even fully fledged out but it’s something,” you said, standing back as the team looked over Dean’s notes.

“This’ll work,” said Bryce. “We did something similar in training at the academy,” he said, a little excitement in his voice. “I mean my group failed but it does work.”

“Instilling me with a lot of confidence, buddy,” you said, reading over the plan yourself.

“Only problem is, you’re a civilian, Y/N. I’m not putting you in there,” said the chief. You glared at him as he stood his ground. “Dean is an officer, he took an oath and understands the risks that are involved-”

“Well you and Dean can chew me out after I get him out of there. I’m going in,” you said, crossing your arms. The chief walked over to his office and pulled out a sheet of paper, signed it hastily and handed it to you.

“Temporary officer,” he said, as you signed it quicker than humanely possible. “Dean’s gonna kill me for this you know.”

“I’ll take pissed off Dean over the alternative any day,” you said, grabbing a seat as you got down to business.

 

You had five minutes left when you pulled up outside of the bar. The vest under your shirt felt heavy and bulky as you were suddenly too concerned that they’d be able to tell you were wearing one. The clock ticked down to four minutes and you threw open the car door, knowing Dean was watching that clock just as carefully as you.

You grabbed the brown bag with the dummy gun inside. It was the same make and the firing pin had been removed. You just hoped they weren’t in the mood to test it out. You gave a knock on the bar door as it was opened and you walked hastily inside.

Dean looked okay for the most part but was breathing heavy and you could have sworn it looked like there were tears in the corners of his eyes. A faint red mark over his mouth and nose told you someone had prevented him from breathing recently. You blood boiled as you saw red, Dean blinking a few times as his eyes looked less alarmed and told you to calm down.

“I brought what you wanted,” you said, walking forward and setting the bag on the table in the middle of the room. “Now give him to me,” you barked. The three men standing around Dean shared a look as one of them approached the table and opened the bag.

“She brought it,” he said after inspecting it.  _Fucking idiot_. He put it back in the bag as he returned to the others. The bartender nodded approvingly.

“You held up your end, we’ll hold up ours,” he said, setting his hand with the gun on Dean’s shoulder as the other ruffled his hair. Dean was ready to snap but looked a little too helpless. It was obvious the past two hours had been a living hell for him. 

“Give him to me,” you demanded. The smaller man moved behind Dean and cut him free, yanking him up by the arm and thrusting him forward as you caught him and pulled him behind you.

“He’s all yours,” said the big guy, the three seeming to share some kind of twisted pleasure at whatever they’d been doing to him. Dean’s hand was shaky as he moved to pull you behind him but you only pushed him back, leading the two of you out the door. The sound of glass breaking caught the room’s attention as you grabbed Dean by his shirt collar and got him outside before the gas got to you. You saw Bryce and Mark run past you inside as you brought Dean over to his car, looking bewildered.

“Just stay, we got it,” you said to him as you leaned him against the hood, rubbing a soothing hand through his hair. It was a few minutes later when you saw the chief round the corner with a big smile.

“All three in custody,” he said happily. Dean nodded as Bryce jogged around the corner, pad and paper in hand looking to take your statements. Dean rehashed his story quickly, trying to keep quiet when he got to the parts about how they taunted him and how they had plans for you. But it was still apparent they’d hurt him after you left.

“Can we go now?” asked Dean after you were done. You gave him a soft smile as you took off your shirt to take off the vest underneath. “I’m going to be so mad at you for doing that tomorrow,” he said as you led him to the passenger side and put him in.

“Y/N?” said the chief once Dean couldn’t hear. “I know it’s only 4:30 on Saturday morning but you two…don’t come in to work Monday, okay? Make sure he’s alright.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice. Check in to make sure he hasn’t murdered me for doing exactly what he would have done,” you said with a chuckle as you moved to the driver’s side and slid in.

 

“Dean?” you asked after the two of you had finally made it home and into bed. He’d been silent since outside of the bar, only grunting when you asked if you could clean up his cuts for him or wrap up his wrists. You’d spotted him after his shower and saw the bruises on his chest that shouldn’t have been there. 

“What,” he said gruffly, laying his head against your chest, tucked up into you, so different than his normal self.

“What do you need,” you said, running your fingers over his arm. He looked like he was debating when he relented.

“I’m pissed at myself because I got scared and I’m still scared, which is really stupid of me to do,” he said, an argument ready to go in you. “But I know you’re gonna get pissed at me for saying that and tell me it’s okay and a bunch of other crap that I’ll pretend to shrug off but really fucking need to hear because I don’t know how to deal with this. Not to mention you were like a fucking badass which was incredibly hot and scary at the same time.”

“I love you,” you said, kissing his temple and then his split lip. You gave his body a little squeeze as you wrapped yourself around him more. 

“I love you,” he said, staring up with softer green eyes. “Thanks, I really needed to hear that,” he said, the tension disappearing form him now.

“It’s hard being you, keeping it together when you’re terrified. How about next time I get kidnapped and you save me?” you said, a small laugh escaping him.

“How about we keep each other safe and no one gets trapped anymore?” he said as you hummed.

“Deal. If only we can get the universe to cooperate,” you said, a larger laugh falling from him.

“Just threaten it and it’ll do whatever you want. For a moment I forgot which one of us is the cop,” he said as you smiled.

“Technically we’re both cops right now,” you said, Dean’s head turning. “Until I sign the papers undoing it.”

“Guess where we’re going in the morning,” he said, the gruffness returning to his voice. You gave him a skeptical look but he stared back harder. 

“Fine. But your ass is technically mine until the medical official on site of the incident signs your release papers,” you said, Dean’s normal self returning a little.

“Wasn’t that you?” he asked, recalling you were the one that gave him the all clear, your brief stint as a paramedic in a different life coming in handy.

“Uh huh,” you said, running your hand up and down his arm again. He gave you puppy dog eyes and you melted. “Fine.”

“You’re weak,” he said with a smile as he curled into a ball next to you, resting his head on the pillow just under your arm so he could still feel you. He went quiet as you shifted down in the bed, seeing the clock turn to five am. You were definitely waking up after noon.

“I’m right here if you need anything,” you whispered, hearing him hum in response.

“G’night. Love you,” he mumbled.

“Love you too big guy,” you said to him. “Sleep tight.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Detective Winchester’s brother moves to town but something follows him there…

“Be with you one sec,” you said, manning the front desk today. You heard the front door open as you were digging through some files on the back table.

“No problem,” said the voice, patiently waiting at the counter.

“Hi, how can I help you today?” you asked, turning around and spotting the man in your local uniform. You saw the badge read Winchester and you nearly lost it. Had someone messed with Dean, again? But you let your eyes trail up to see a face you’d seen in countless pictures, let yourself recognize the voice from your phone conversations.

“Hey, shortie,” said Sam with a smile, offering a hug as you walked around front. “Nice to finally meet in the flesh.”

“You too, you giant moose,” you said, wrapping your arms around him. He was warm and solid like Dean, a little gentler. He was the baby brother though and growing up with Dean, you expected nothing less. “What are you doing here in that uniform?” you asked, seeing the grin cross Sam’s face.

“Dean didn’t tell you?” asked Sam.

“He’s been away at training the past two weeks, comes home today. We haven’t gotten to talk much lately. He didn’t tell me what exactly?” you asked.

“I’m staying with you guys until I find a place. I moved to town, working here at the station now since Mark retired. Dean didn’t mention that at all?” asked Sam.

“He’s been trying to cover while the chief’s been on vacation, he probably forgot,” you said, grabbing the file you’d been looking for and waving Sam in. “Let me show you around then.”

 

You got Sam settled as you found his transfer papers on the chief’s desk, introducing him to your small team. It was around six by the time Bryce rolled in, ready to man the night shift.

“Does this mean I’m not the rookie anymore?” he asked, a little bit of hope on his face.

“You’re the rookie,” said the room, Lexi and Stu waving goodnight as they headed out. 

“Worth a shot,” he said. “You’re not as grumpy as Dean are you?” asked Bryce, seeing Sam’s amused expression.

“No, Dean’s one of a kind like that. Speaking of which, I thought he was coming home today?” asked Sam. You checked your phone again. He’d texted you earlier in the day to say he was stopping at the station first before heading home.

“Y/N, nothing bad happened,” said Bryce, knowing where your head was going.

“Have you met us?” you asked. The second the words left your mouth, you heard the front door open and saw a patch of blonde hair you’d been missing like crazy.

“Told you,” said Bryce, seeing the small smile spread over your face as Dean caught sight of you. He dropped his gruffness for a moment as he gave you a hug.

“I missed you,” he said quietly, never one to want to be too warm and fuzzy in front of others. You heard Sam grunt and Dean saw for the first time his little brother was there. Now he was having a really hard time hiding how happy he was. “Come here dork.”

They exchanged a short but loving hug before Dean decided you three should head home, some place he didn’t have to hide how he felt as much. By the time you were home and Sam was putting away his few belongings in the guest bedroom, Dean was apologizing.

“I’m sorry, I thought I told you about Sam staying,” he said, your face scrunching up.

“Dean, baby, I’m not mad. You know how much I’ve wanted to meet him,” you said, wrapping your arms around Dean’s bare torso as he changed into pajamas. “I know you don’t have much in the way of family so I’m really happy Sam will be close by. He can stay as long as he wants.”

“You’re too good to me, sweetheart,” he said, kissing your forehead. “But I got to get into some clothes before I rip yours off.”

“Aw,” you said teasingly, releasing him so he could finish changing. “I expect something fun later.”

“Oh, I promise,” he said with a wink, watching as you skipped out of your room and down the hall.

“Hey, Sam. I know it’s getting kind of late. We can order some take out if you…” you said before trailing off. Sam was sitting on the couch, his body rigid, back turned to you. You’d seen that angry slump in a Winchester’s shoulders before and didn’t hesitate. “…want we could get some pizza from Little Big’s?” you said loud enough for Dean to hear.

Two seconds later, Dean was in the hall, shoving you back into your room as he pushed past you into your living room, gun raised. You did like you were supposed to, locked yourself in the bathroom with Dean’s other firearm while you waited for him to come back. Enough had happened to you two over the past year that you’d come up with a few panic words. 

Two minutes later a knock came at the door, Dean telling you it was okay but you had to go. You, he, and Sam piled into Baby, not wasting any time before you were heading to the station, Sam sporting a good shiner.

“How may I…oh come on, now what happened to you guys?” said Bryce, taking it wasn’t a good sign you were walking in wearing nothing but pajamas, not even stopping for shoes.

“Sam worked undercover. They never caught two of the guys. They’re pissed and they were in my house so now I’m fucking pissed. Got it?” said Dean, brushing past to head towards the locker room. 

“Everybody okay?” asked Bryce, more to you and Sam but Dean answered anyway.

“We’re just peachy, rookie! What do you think? Get in the other two-”

“That’s going to be a problem, Detective Winchester,” said Bryce, rubbing the back of his head. You groaned as you remembered just why it would be. “Lexi and Stu went away for the weekend. You authorized it on account of Sam starting today.”

“Bryce, you better be joking,” said Dean, ready to devour him.

“Back off, it’s not his fault. We’re at the station, nothing is going to happen here,” you said, the power going out seconds later.

“You were saying?” said Dean, his hand already on your arm, pulling you towards the back of the building, not waiting for the others. He gave you a shove inside the break room, locking the one door and barricading it with the table, before pausing at the other.

“I can help,” you said, bypassing Dean and speaking to Sam and Bryce. “You know I’m not useless here.”

“You will stay in this room until I come and get you, understand?” said Dean, moving you back inside. 

“Dean, I-”

“We don’t have time to argue, Y/N. Are you going to make me use these?” he said, opening up a drawer in the counter, pulling out a pair of zip ties.

“Guys, let me help,” you said, Dean growling as he did what he thought was best.

“Be quiet…I love you,” was the last thing you heard Dean say before he locked you in, Sam and Bryce already fortifying and calling for backup from the next town over.

“Love you too, jackass,” you muttered, already getting up from the chair Dean had sat you in and opening the drawer with scissors. It wasn’t too hard to cut yourself free but Dean hadn’t left you many options for escape.

Was he right to try and keep you safe? Of course. Did he have a knack for going about it the wrong way? Absolutely. Dean had only ever let you take care of him, truly take care of him, that one night after the bar. You might have been smaller, not all that trained, and more likely to freeze up…but you weren’t leaving his side on the off chance he needed you.

You did have  _one_  way out, not that it was going to be pleasant. The air vents were industrial size, thanks to a purchasing error, and it was easy enough to hop on the counter and climb up in. 

“This isn’t a horror movie, this isn’t a horror movie,” you said to yourself, knowing you’d freak out if something grabbed you. With slow movements, you kept quiet, finding the locker room next door. It looked empty as you positioned yourself to drop down feet first. You heard sound below but it was too late now to stop yourself from falling down.

“What the fuck,” you heard Dean say so harshly you almost forgot about how your foot had just crashed into something hard. You leaned up to see him glaring daggers at you as you took in the unconscious man beside you.

“She just saved our asses,” said Sam, moving to restrain the man as you realized you’d kicked him on the way down. You felt a little bad about that until you remembered he probably didn’t have good things planned for any of you.

Everything had settled down by the time your neighboring police department showed up. They got in a few good jabs on Dean about how crappy his luck was but they helped out, letting you, him, and Sam get out of there before midnight.

The ride home was quiet and tense, until Sam started in on apologizing at which Dean told him it was okay, surprising you. When Sam went to his room for the night, Dean’s attention focused on you. You weren’t in the mood for his gruff attitude though.

“Get it out of your system, say whatever you want, but I wouldn’t have done one thing differently,” you said, crossing your arms.

“You could have been hurt,” he said.

“So could you,” you said back. You waited for the next argument but Dean went lax, eyes softer.

“Thanks for going all Die Hard and saving the day,” he said, giving you the tiniest of smiles. “But never again, understand?”

“We’ll see,” you said, letting him know that was all he was ever going to get out of you. “Do you want some dinner now or to go to bed?”

“We can take Sam to that diner for breakfast before his shift starts. Make sure he doesn’t have anymore crazies after him,” said Dean, throwing an arm over your shoulders.

“Sounds like a plan, Detective Winchester.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Detective Winchester and reader are headed home for a relaxing evening after a long day at work…

“You know, no one else is here right now,” said Dean, leaning down at your desk as you finished up some work. “Not a single person.”

“Are you trying to get frisky at work, Dean?” you asked, chuckling slightly. “Come on, you’re all business when we’re at the station.”

“I’m working on the whole being more open thing,” said Dean, sitting on your desk, moving your hands away from the keyboard and into his. “Less gruff, more fluff.”

“First off, I like gruffy you. Second, we are so getting you a shirt that says that,” you said, smiling as Dean squinted at you. “If there was any part of you that bothered me, you would know about it by now. We’ve been together over a year. Besides, you can act like a complete and utter hopeless romantic at home. I like you tough in public, makes me feel safe.”

“I like that,” said Dean, a small smile on his face. Dean had always been your protector and you knew he thought it annoyed you at times. Sure, the watchful glances when you got up to use the bathroom at a restaurant were unnecessary but he always had your back, even when you didn’t realize it. “I like taking care of you.”

“Sorry, I can give you guys some privacy if you want,” said Bryce, suddenly right behind Dean at his desk, coming in for his night shift.

“Rookie,” said Dean, his voice low. “Repeat any of this to anyone…”

“Detective Winchester I would never dare,” said Bryce, holding a hand to his chest. “Not like we don’t all know by now that you’re a big softie under all that hard exterior.”

“Want to say that again?” said Dean, turning around and folding his arms, looking down at the young officer. 

“Stop scaring your prodigé, sweetheart,” you said, finishing up an email and packing up for the night. “They all know you’re sweet on me.”

“Keep an eye on the town, Bryce,” said Dean, patting him on the shoulder as he walked past with his backpack in hand, holding out a hand for you. “Y/N and I are off to have a super sappy and romantic evening.”

“We are?” you asked, Bryce’s eyebrows raising just in time to see Dean roll his eyes. 

“We’re going to go home and watch something we’ve seen before, eat leftovers and probably have sex if we aren’t too tired if I’m being honest,” he said, Bryce’s eyes widening. 

“You probably should have picked a better mentor than him,” you said to Bryce, Dean scowling.

“Actually, Dean’s been helpful in certain…areas of-”

“I swear to god if you tell him about our sex life, Dean,” you said, pulling back and seeing Dean shake his head. 

“He’s young, I’m just helping him with some personal stuff,” said Dean, not sharing anymore than that. He wouldn’t break Bryce’s trust like that and you were glad Dean had a certain standard when it came to things like that.

“Go get out of here and enjoy your night guys,” said Bryce, pushing you out the door. “I’ve got things covered.”

You were about five minutes from home when you were reading a text from Sam on Dean’s phone.

_In trouble. Havenport. 243 Glaston Road. No cops or problems. Need you now. Hurry. Pls._

You hadn’t finished reading Sam’s text aloud before Dean was heading down a different street that led out of town and to the next one over.

“I thought Sam was home,” you said, knowing it’d been his day off.

“He said he was going out at breakfast. Shit, Sammy, what’d you get yourself into…” said Dean, picking up speed as he left town and onto the open road.

“Should we call the police?” you asked, Dean’s eye roll out of this world. 

“Was I suddenly demoted to office manager and wasn’t notified? I’m a cop, I can handle it. He probably just got in a bar fight,” said Dean, his grip on the steering wheel tight.

“Well since a little ole’ office manager can’t do jack shit, why don’t you just let me out right here and I’ll walk back to town,” you said, glaring at him in the passenger seat. “Not like I’ve ever been helpful in these situations or anything.”

“Y/N, I-”

“I’ve saved your ass on multiple accounts,” you said, turning to face him.   
“The least you can do is show me a little respect. I know you think of me as a liability but I put up with your shit everyday. I can handle a bar fight.”

“I think it’s better if we don’t talk,” said Dean, breathing slow and calculated.

“Great idea,” you said, looking out at the dark night. Ten minutes ago he was making you laugh. You always hated fights with Dean. He never wanted to talk, even after you’d cooled off and you were guessing this would be no different.

You did love his gruffness but sometimes, it was too much.

 

“It’s a bar, shocking,” you said as Dean pulled up. The place looked dead but you were already out of your door with Dean trailing behind grumpily. When you entered, you spun on your heels. 

“There’s no one here,” said Dean, walking inside.

“Maybe they decided to call it a night after the fight,” you said, walking towards a back door to a kitchen where a light was on. “I’m going to call Sam, see where he’s at, okay?”

When Dean didn’t respond, your hairs stood on edge. There was a body behind you but you didn’t get one of Dean’s grunts back, only a muffled sound off in the distance. You didn’t even have the time to let out a groan before a rag came over your mouth and everything went black.

 

You woke up in what looked like a basement if you had to guess. Dean was out cold beside you but otherwise looked unharmed. Thankfully your wrists were bound in front of you as you gave Dean’s shoulder a shove. It took a few pushes but he began to stir and was quickly sitting up, his face a combination of anger, fear and annoyance.

“Any chance this wasn’t a setup?” you asked him, Dean running his hands over his face. He shook his head as you began to look around the dim space.

“I’ll get you out of here,” said Dean, shifting and standing up. It wasn’t a large room, fairly small actually and empty apart from the two of you. There was a set of steep steps and a door at the top but other than that, nothing, not even a window.

A knock at the door caught both of your attention as your gaze saw it open and a dark figure stand at the top of the stairs.

“Sit with your back against the far wall,” said the voice. Dean grumbled but did as told and took a seat beside you. Three men came down the stairs, their faces covered. “Sorry about all the theatrics but it was a lot easier to pickpocket a phone and get you to come to us than the other way around.”

“Get to the point, jackass,” said Dean, his hands in fists. 

“He must be a pain in the ass to live with, huh sweetheart? You must have the patience of a saint,” said the man, crossing his arms, staring Dean down. “The point,  _jackass_ , is your little brother owes us our take. You two are staying with us until we get it, got it?”

You threw Dean a glance as he threw one to you. Sam had never done any jobs. Apart from when he was undercover that was.

“Behave, do what we say and as soon as Sam brings by what we’re owed, you can go on your merry way,” said the man, tossing you and Dean each a water bottle. “Let’s hope he’s quick about it.”

You saw Dean want to say and do a million things but one look at you and he just slumped against the wall. He’d never risk it with you around.

“You got it, boss,” said Dean, cocking his head with a dangerous smile that was clearly a warning to your captors.

They let you be after a moment and soon it was just you and Dean again. Things had been tense in the car and now all you could think of was how mad Dean was going to be at you for being there. 

“Are you okay?” he asked quietly, reaching his hands over to hold yours.

“Yeah, you?” you asked in return, Dean humming.

“You were right,” said Dean, looking at his lap. “We should have called for backup. I’m the idiot. You’ll probably figure out a way to get us out of here and save the day again. You make a far better cop than I’ll ever be.”

“It doesn’t matter, what’s done is done,” you said, scooting closer to him. “Just wrap your arms around me and tell me we’re going to be okay.” Dean’s hand pulled you into his lap as he slipped his arms over your head and around you. It was only a little awkward being bound like you were but not uncomfortable.

“We’re going to be okay, Y/N.”

 

You remembered when Dean had grazed your arm at the bank, the hot metal tearing against your flesh. It’d hurt like hell at first but subsided when you realized there was no real harm done. 

Getting shot in the shoulder, the bullet passing through your body, that one hurt a bit more and didn’t dissipate. Dean had his body over yours, protecting you from any further harm behind a couch but the shootout going on over your head was enough to make you want to stay on that floor forever.

Thankfully one Winchester had the common sense to call for backup. One of your captors spotted one of your rescuers out a window when they brought you and Dean up from the basement you were in and everything went to hell. Dean tried to get the two of you to the front door of the house you were in but he got tripped up. You saw a gun and hopped in front of him like it was no big deal. 

In your mind it wasn’t. You’d never let anything happen to him. Dean would be pissed later but his outburst would be worth it. You didn’t crumple to the ground but Dean was thinking for you as your mind caught up with the pain in your body. You hated not being able to see what was going on but eventually the shots stopped ringing out and the stomp of coordinated boots told you you were safe again.

Dean and one of the Havenport officers helped you outside and over to an ambulance, the larger town having an actual hospital you could visit. They gave you a quick patch job before loading you up and sending you on your way, Dean staying quiet on the way there. He was probably waiting until you were alone to scream his head off at you.

Four hours later, you’d finally gotten a minute to relax. ER prep, surgery, even if the wound wasn’t life threatening, speaking with about ten different officers and an apologetic Sam…they’d taken a lot out of you. When Dean stood from the chair he’d been sat in for a good long while and shut your door, you knew he was done waiting.

“Don’t yell too loud, the other patients might hear you through the walls,” you said, sitting upright. 

“I’m not going to yell at you sweetheart,” said Dean. “That bullet hit your shoulder. It would have probably hit my lung or heart. I’m never going to be mad at you for saving my life.”

“I’ve been thinking something bad was going to happen,” you said, breathing a sigh of relief. “You were scaring me a little.”

“I want to break up, Y/N,” said Dean, his tone cold.

“What?” you said, knowing he must have been trying out a poorly timed joke.

“I want to end our relationship,” said Dean. “I already spoke to the chief while you were in surgery. There’s a transfer position open in Rockbridge. I’ll start on Monday.”

“Dean, stop,” you said, sitting up in bed all the way, moving too quickly and pain rippling through your arm.

“You can stay at the house with Sam. No rush on trying to find a place. I’ll be gone by the time they release you tomorrow,” said Dean, keeping his distance at the end of your bed.

“This is not your fault, understand?” you said, pointing at your bandage. “I did not get hurt because of you.”

“No, you only continually get put in life threatening situations because of me,” said Dean, his green eyes hard and sad. “I promised when we started this thing I would keep you safe. I’m too dangerous for you.”

“Dean, I-”

“I don’t want you anymore,” he said, no compassion in his voice. “Goodbye, Y/N.” He didn’t give you a second glance before he was walking away and out the door, leaving you all alone.

Again.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Detective Winchester has been out of reader’s life for a month now but they manage to find themselves forced together again…

It’d been a month since Dean left. Shock turned to sadness, sadness to numbness. You swore you’d never be the type to let a bad breakup get to you.

But Dean…he’d been the one. That was the only thing you could think of why you continued to feel this way. Screw him and his over protectiveness. You were a grown woman and weren’t going to be treated like a child.

You had enough pride left though that you weren’t going back. Something major would have to happen for you to even consider it. 

“Y/N, your shift ended fifteen minutes ago,” said Bryce, walking over to your desk. “You doing okay?”

“I’m just tired, Bryce,” you said with a smile. Everyone at the station saw through it though. You packed up your things as Bryce stuck around.

“Aren’t you supposed to go over Sam’s and have dinner?” he asked. “Not that I mind you crashing on my couch but-”

“I’m still looking,” you said, wishing you hadn’t sold your house and ever moved in with that stupid Winchester. “I’ll be out in an apartment by end of next week, I promise.”

“Y/N, I’m not kicking you out,” said Bryce, resting his hand on yours.

“Go ahead, that was your mentor’s move wasn’t it,” you said, seeing Bryce recoil. “Sorry. I know he was your friend.”

“He asks about you sometimes, he texts me,” said Bryce, glancing down. “Wants to know how your shoulder is, how you’re doing…”

“He only left me when I needed him most but other than that, fan-freaking-tastic,” you said, slipping your backpack on, wincing when you put it on the wrong one.

“Still going to physical therapy?” asked Bryce. You nodded. No one knew you’d had to go back in for another surgery when they couldn’t get part of the bullet out the first time around. It’d only been a week and you were still healing.

“What are you my mother?” you said, walking out and stopping as you passed by his desk. “I’m sorry, again. You’ve been a great friend and I’ve been…an ass.”

“He broke your heart,” said Bryce simply, no anger on his face. “Want me to go beat him up for you?” You laughed, a smile on your lips that Bryce seemed happy to see again.

“No, no,” you said. “I can handle Detective Winchester on my own.”

 

You hadn’t wanted to come back to Dean’s house but Sam invited you for dinner and you felt strange inviting Sam over to Bryce’s.

“Hey shortie,” said Sam, embracing you in a big hug like he hadn’t just seen you all day. “I was afraid you weren’t going to come.”

“I still like one Winchester,” you said, letting go and walking inside. Sam knew it was awkward. He’d once been the guest in this house. Now Dean was in Rockbridge, you unable to stand being here, especially since Dean owned it, and Sam had the whole place to himself, having given up on looking for an apartment in the very limited options in your town and saving for a house of his own instead.

“How’s the shoulder?” he asked, leading you into your kitchen, three places set.

“I swear to god if he’s coming, Sam,” you said warningly. Sam was a big guy but he looked pretty terrified of you in that moment. Not long after you heard a rumble of an engine outside and clenched your fists.

“My dinner, I pick the guests,” said Sam, grabbing your arm as you headed for the back door. You tried to shake him off but groaned, pulling at your stitches. “I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s fine,” you said, grabbing a towel off the counter and shoving it against your shoulder, just as Dean walked in.

He was back in a suit, the larger town giving him a promotion. He smiled as he saw Sam but quickly frowned when his gaze fell on you. This was not how you wanted him to see you for the first time since he walked out of that hospital room.

Face in a grimace, a bloody dish rag shoved in your shirt, panting as you tried to block out the pain.

“You need a doctor or something?” asked Dean, your blood boiling inside you. You only glared before stepping into the hall bathroom to inspect the damage. 

You needed a new bandage but your stitches had held. You dug through the cabinet until you found what you needed and got yourself patched up. By the time you were back out, Dean was sitting at the table, downing what looked like three shots of whiskey in one go.

“Seriously though, are you okay?” asked Sam and you nodded.

“Should have been healed up by now I would think,” said Dean, pouring himself another drink.

“I had to have surgery last week,” you said, catching them both off guard. “Doctor couldn’t get it all the first time around.”

“Sounds like a shitty doctor to me,” said Dean, sipping at his drink.

“Y/N, someone went with you right?” asked Sam, your head already shaking as you stole Dean’s bottle away and poured a large glass for yourself. “You should have told me.”

“I don’t want two over protective Winchesters, Sam,” you said, forcing the few shots down, the burn almost painful but necessary to keep you calm if you were getting through this dinner. “Food almost done?”

“Yeah,” said Sam, taking the bottle away. “Looks like you two will be drunk just in time for some food.” The room stayed quiet as you found your seat across from Dean, neither of you giving the other an ounce of your interest.

“How’s the job going Sammy?” asked Dean, cutting through the silence. “Taking care of things?”

“Yeah, s’been quiet,” said Sam. “Except for…” he said, gulping nervously as he looked to you.

“I gave my two week notice,” you said, Dean’s gaze finally finding yours. “I’m going back to my old job.”

“You hated your old job,” said Dean, confused and a little angry. “Don’t go and do this because of me.”

“Not everything in my life revolves around you, Dean,” you said, making the words pointed and harsh. He seemed to retreat into his seat as you took a breath. “I need a change.”

“I think it’s a bad idea is all,” said Dean, his voice softer as Sam grabbed the plates sat in front of you. “Don’t let me fuck anything else up for you.”

“Well, ya did,” you said, Sam putting a plate full of some pasta that smelled delicious and made your stomach churn down. “Everything…it all reminds me of your stupid face.”

“Good comeback,” said Dean, picking up a fork. “Where’d you learn that one, the playground?”

“Guys!” Sam growled, slamming his fists down. “Eat your dinner and pretend that we all still like each other for one night. Please, for me. I miss my stupid, fucked up family.”

That was enough to shut you and Dean up for the rest of the night. Everything was kept to idle chit chat as you told Sam maybe you’d reconsider leaving. Dean did his best to keep his distance after the meal but eventually you bumped into him leaving the bathroom.

“Ow,” you hissed, your hand shooting up, Dean’s hands on your arms, steadying you as you let the jolts pass through you. The second you realized it was him and not Sam helping you felt his hands move away.

“Sorry,” he said, cold and gruff. You caught his green eyes and had to fight back the tears that were there. 

“Sam,” you said, brushing past him and into the family room. “Can you drive me home? I don’t think I should.”

“Dean, do you want a ride too?” asked Sam, seeing your face scrunch up. “Maybe you better crash here tonight. Both of you.”

“Sam,” you protested but he waved you off.

“You hurt your shoulder twice tonight, you should sleep on a bed,” said Sam, pointing upstairs. “You’ve got a couple guest rooms.”

“Fine,” you said, not going to argue at getting to sleep on a mattress for the first time since leaving the hospital.

“You don’t have a bed?” asked Dean, soft-spoken, like he forget you two were mad at each other, he only doing it to turn you away. “Did something happen in the master bedroom I should know about?”

“She doesn’t live here anymore,” said Sam, facing Dean as you stopped in your tracks. “Crashing at Bryce’s in the meantime of finding a place.”

“I’ll take one of the beds upstairs, Y/N gets the master,” said Dean, walking quickly past you. There was more he wanted to say but he simply went up the stairs and slammed a door shut, telling you he was done for the night.

“This went great,” said Sam, running his hands over his face. 

“Pasta was good,” you said, kicking your feet at the floor.

“You’ll never forgive him, will you,” said Sam watching your head dip low.

“He broke up with me to protect me, Sam,” you said. “He thought he was dangerous, bad for me. I’ve had some shit happen to me and you know what the worst thing was? Watching him walk out that door and knowing I will never get him to change his mind. He thinks he’s doing this to protect me? All he did was ruin me and I don’t know how to get past him.”

“You two didn’t talk or anything? Nothing?” asked Sam, your tears only stopped by the back of your hand wiping them away.

“He can’t protect me if he’s not with me,” you said, walking towards your room. “I can handle the crazy bad guys, the vengeful undercover douches, his need to look out for me. I can handle that. I need him for the stupid stuff. The checking the locks at night, killing a spider on the wall, an arm around my waist when we walk down the street.”

“Y/N, you should-”

“He abandoned me, Sam,” you said, not bothering to fight back your tears any longer. “Hours after I took a bullet for him. I needed him to reassure me. Instead I took care of myself. I’m going to take care of myself, because he won’t.”

With that you went to bed, locking the door before Sam could say anything more.

 

It was two in the morning when the sound of running water woke you. It always drove you nuts. You kicked the covers back and walked into the hall in one of Dean’s shirts he’d left there. You had to ignore how good it felt to be wearing one of them again.

After getting down the hall you saw the kitchen sink dripping, obviously turned on recently. Drudging over you shut it off, turning around and heading back for your room when you felt the air shift. Your senses lit up just in time to feel someone grab you from behind.

A normal day, you had a shot but this guy was twisting your bad arm and you were doing everything just to keep him from picking you off the ground.

“Get off me!” you shouted, his other arm around your neck as feet pounded down the stairs.

Dean.

“Buddy, let her go if you want to make it through tonight,” said Dean, his fists shaking. You struggled as the person contemplated it. They were strong and tall.

And Sam should have been right on Dean’s heels.

“Sam?” you asked, relaxing as Dean’s face soured. Sam loosened his grip on your neck and stopped pinning your arm behind you. You felt him reach up to take off a ski mask. You weren’t sure you’d ever seen Dean more confused in his life.

“Sammy, what the hell are you doing?” asked Dean, dropping his hands after throwing them up. You tugged on Sam’s arm but it didn’t budge.

“Sam, move your arm bud,” you said, pressing against it and feeling it shove you back into his chest. “Sam…” you said low, feeling him put more pressure on you. “Let me go. Now.”

“I can’t do that,” said Sam, grabbing hold of your wrist when you tried to whack him.

“Sam, if you hurt her…” said Dean, his eyes dark as he took a step forward.

“I would never,” said Sam, backing up with you. “I’m trying to get your stubborn ass to see why you were wrong.”

“Excuse me?” asked Dean, small bits of panic showing on his face as you withered under Sam’s hold, even if you weren’t in any danger.

“You left her so she’d be safe, right?” asked Sam, pulling you back around the kitchen island, Dean stalking after. 

“She got shot because of me, she gets put in dangerous situations because of me,” said Dean, following the two of you back out into the open space.

“How’s that working out for you?” asked Sam, your body trying harder to thrash against him but failing miserably.

“Again, excuse me?” asked Dean, his hands forming into fists.

“Pretend I was some robber, I break into Y/N’s place, get a hold of her, just like this,” said Sam, your eyes finding Dean’s. “Only, you’re not here because you’re keeping her safe by staying away. How do you think this turns out for Y/N?”

“Stop it Sammy,” said Dean, watching you try to relax as you realized it was no use.

“I’m sure wherever Y/N would end up, some shed or basement or ditch, that’s fine and dandy because you were keeping her safe by not being there for her, huh?” said Sam, going darker with this than you thought possible. 

“You’re scaring her,” said Dean, seeing you unable to keep a neutral face any longer. “She’s strong and smart. If she wasn’t hurt right now-”

“But she is hurt,” said Sam. “I love you Dean but you’re a son of a bitch for leaving her like that.”

“I thought I was doing the best thing for, Y/N,” said Dean, looking down before he found your eyes looking to him for help. “Come on, you made your point. Let her go.”

“Have I? Because you sound like you’ve got contingencies on this,” said Sam, your hand trying to pry his arm away out of pure instinct alone. “Like as soon as she isn’t hurt, you think she could take care of herself, like you’d leave again.”

“Dean,” you whined, trying to calm down. “P-prove it or something. Tell him what he wants to hear. I know different, you won’t change your mind.”

“Even if you were healthy, you’d never get out of there,” said Dean, gulping as he took you in. “Even if the guy were smaller, if he got the jump on you…you don’t get out of this, Y/N.”

“You’re supposed to make me feel better, dammit!” you said, panicking briefly. 

“I’m not supposed to be this big of a fucking idiot either,” said Dean, staring at the ground. “I told you from the start, I’m not good at being close to people. I fucked up. Sam’s right. You’re right, about what you said when you thought I went upstairs…I was so completely and horribly wrong to think being away was what made you safe. I should have been here.”

“Yeah, you should have,” you said, noticing for the first time that Sam had freed you as Dean spoke and was currently looking fairly ashamed, and a little proud, for what he did. “What you do next is the big question.”

“What do you mean?” asked Dean, crossing his arms. “I broke your trust, your heart, everything. I broke us.”

“You remember when you tied me up just to keep me safe during that storm?” you asked, Dean’s head nodding. “You have had a pathological need to keep me safe from the moment I met you. I understand that and I can live with it. But it’s gotta change some. No more treating me like a child, locking me up when you need to keep me safe. Treat me like your partner, like the person you let see you breakdown that night after the bar. Let me take care of you.”

“I’ll be bad at this,” said Dean, taking a step back when you took one forward. Now that he was vulnerable, he didn’t know what to do with himself. “I’ll screw up again, I know I will and I’ll hurt you.”

“You’re worth all the bumps and scrapes, Dean,” you said, taking a step forward and another, Dean keeping his head low. You tapped your hand under your chin when you were in front of him, his head coming up. “I always thought the gruff was part of who you are, and I think it is a small part, but it’s always been a shield for you, huh. Something to keep you safe.”

“I’m not…” he muttered, shifting on his feet as he found Sam’s gaze. “Sammy was the only person that ever thought I was worth something.”

“Well you’ve got two of us now,” you said, running a hand on Dean’s arm to feel him trembling. “We’ll help you see that you’re worth it too.”

“But I’m not,” said Dean, a quake in his voice. “I don’t deserve to get you back. I didn’t deserve you in the first place.”

“You went out on a limb because this…” you said, pointing at his heart, “It wanted to love me. For all the power that shield had, it couldn’t stop that. It’s not going to stop me from helping you either.”

 

It’d been a few days since both you and Dean moved back in but already you could tell a difference in him. He let you do more things for yourself, he let you do things for him, he would ask if he could lay his head in your lap. He was finally trusting you the way you’d always trusted him.

“You don’t think I’m pathetic right?” asked Dean one evening, your hand running through his hair as you watched mindless TV. “You fell in love with…that tough, strong version of me.”

“I fell in love with the man who let me see his softer side, the sweet side that came out when we were alone,” you said, running your hand in a pattern now that made Dean lean into you. “You are tough and strong too. But you’re a person. People need love. I’m sorry if I ever made you feel as though I needed you to be only those things.”

“No, you’ve been perfect,” said Dean, turning off the TV. “I was scared to let you in. Sam’s all I’ve ever had. I had to be strong for him growing up and it made me be afraid to let the woman I love see all the bad parts of me.

“Is this a bad part?” you asked, his eyes turning up to find yours. He was still getting used to talking about this and you found his face a little shy. “Lying with your head in my lap, do you think this is bad? That I think any less of you for you doing it?”

“I used to,” said Dean, your heart breaking for him. “Not anymore. I actually really like it.”

“I like it too,” you said, slumping down a little, continuing the soothing motion for him. “I can’t undo thirty years worth of pain overnight baby, no matter how much I wish I could.”

“If all I ever got was this right here, it’d be okay. You helped me and you won’t judge me and I still don’t deserve-”

“You’re never saying that ever again or so help me,” you said, Dean tilting his head up to see you weren’t kidding. “You deserve me, understand?”

“I guess,” he said, grabbing your hand. “You’ll get me there someday. I trust you.” When you didn’t say anything he looked up to see you smiling. “What?”

“Nothing, baby,” you said. “You’re gonna be just fine.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Detective Winchester is back home but things are tense around town after everything that’s happened…

“Want to go grab some lunch?” you said, popping your head into Dean’s office. He glanced up and gave you a smile.

“Sure,” he said. “Let me just drop off this file to Bryce on the way out.” You moved aside and let Dean pass, happy that he was back in his uniform and jeans, back where he belonged. “You’re all set, signed off for you,” said Dean, handing the file over.

Bryce made a grunting noise and snatched it out of Dean’s hands without ever looking at him, returning his attention to his computer. Dean inhaled sharply but didn’t say anything. 

“Would you like to come to lunch with us Bryce?” asked Dean, trying to sound happy.

“No thanks,” said Bryce, his voice mostly neutral and a little cold. Dean nodded to himself and shut his eyes. You let out a sigh and hooked your arm around Dean’s, pulling him away and outside to his car. The diner was only a two minute drive and by the time you sat down at your usual spot and ordered your usual meal, Dean was clenching his fists.

“I’m sorry,” you said, reaching your hand across the table, prying Dean’s fingers away from themselves. He relaxed and let you hold his hand in yours, staring out the window. “I never expected them to be like this.”

“I did,” said Dean, making his voice hard. Your waitress could tell Dean wasn’t up for idle chit chat today and quickly left after dropping off your food. “I’m the bad guy.”

“No you aren’t,” you said, squeezing his hand. “You’re saying nice things about yourself now, remember?”

“Okay, I  _was_  the bad guy, happy?” said Dean, picking up one of his fries and munching on it. You sighed and let go of his hand, poking at your salad as you waited. “It’s like…it’s like how it was before you got there. Even then though they didn’t hate my guts like now.”

“Dean, they do not-”

“Y/N, I fucked you over and they saw the aftermath. I’m the dick that left you alone and hurt you and I get it, I deserve to not have friends again,” said Dean. He looked small sitting there, just staring at the burger he normally would be half done with by now.

“They need time. It’s only Friday. You just got back on Monday,” you said, trying to reassure him. It’d been about two weeks since Dean moved back home and he’d been okay. He didn’t put the weight of the world on his shoulders. 

Monday night, when the two of you sat eating dinner in silence, you saw that wall start to come back up. You and Sam were on the one side of it with him which was good but Dean was scared of letting people in again. One bad first day back and he realized he was going to have problems.

“Why don’t we invite Bryce and Lexi and Stu and the chief over to watch the football game tomorrow?” you said, Dean’s body tensing at the mere mention of having guests in his house. You were fairly certain you, Sam and a few unsavory characters had been the only people to ever set foot in the place.

“Okay,” he said, letting out a big breath and reaching out his hand across the table. You gave him a little smile and let him hold yours. “Thanks,” he said, mouthful of burger to hide any sweetness that would have been apparent in his normal voice.

“You’re welcome,” you said, reaching over to steal one of his fries. He squinted his eyes at you and gave a wag of his finger. “Gonna arrest me?”

“Better to keep you under police supervision for the time being,” said Dean, letting his worries fall aside for the moment, knowing he had you there for him.

 

Your coworkers were a little surprised to be invited over. They were more surprised that Dean was the one asking. With you giving them death glares behind Dean’s back if they didn’t attend, you weren’t worried that they wouldn’t come. But at home that night, Dean curled up into you as Sam picked out a movie to watch, he was still uneasy about the whole thing.

The last thing you wanted was for this to stress him out. Sam could tell Dean was abnormally quiet as you watched a horror the three of you normally made fun of. 

_He’s not even watching. -Sam_

You glanced at the text on your phone and then the blonde patch of hair that was laying in your lap.

_What’s he doing? - Y/N_

You held your hand away so Dean couldn’t tell you were texting. You watched Sam type away on his phone before a message popped up.

_Staring at the floor. I think he’s scared people won’t show up. Or that they’ll be mean since we’re outside of work._

“Dean,” you said, running your hand through his hair.

“I know you guys are talking about me,” said Dean. “You both missed the shower bit.”

“Talk to us buddy,” said Sam, clicking off the movie and turning his attention to Dean. Dean shifted to sit up but decided to slump down, grasping one of your hands as he ran his other one over his face.

“I’ve always been the asshole to these guys. Sure, maybe I got to be a more likable asshole but you guys…you two are the only ones that know that’s a work thing. I try to think I’m kinda nice at home…” said Dean and you chuckled.

“Dude, everybody is different outside of work,” said Sam. “You’re nice…and a dick but that’s because you’re my brother and you’re always going to be a dick to me. Kind of in the sibling hand book.”

“Dean, say something nice about yourself without saying something mean at the same time,” you said, Dean’s head scowling as it turned to face you. “We haven’t done it yet today and you’re over due.”

“I…like that I have you two losers in my life to take care of me,” said Dean, you and Sam raising an eyebrow.

“That was pretty good but that was something nice about  _us_. Try yourself this time,” said Sam and you felt Dean sigh. Dean protested about the two of you doing this to him daily with no end in sight but you knew it helped him.

“I…like that…I’m trying to do something tomorrow even though it kind of scares me because I know deep down it might help,” said Dean. You kissed his cheek and heard Dean groan. “Can we stop being sappy now?”

“We got your back,” said Sam, grabbing hold of the remote. “Tomorrow’s going to be just fine. You got us to protect you from all those bad things floating around in your head.”

“You’ve gotten me this far,” said Dean, moving back to lay in your lap, still holding hands. “Now rewind it, we missed the best part.”

 

Dean was surprised at how Lexi and Stu were a lot less brash with him at home. They were asking about property taxes and were impressed with the large backyard you had, asking if other homes in the neighborhood had them. It took Dean a minute to realize they were doing it because they were trying to get him to relax.

The chief and his wife weren’t a problem and you enjoyed that you were getting to return the favor for the few times they’d hosted you and Dean for dinner.

Dean was still staring at the door though, still wondering if Bryce would show up. He’d been the one that took care of you when you were a mess, had heard you cry yourself to sleep at night. To say Bryce had gotten a little mad with Dean was an understatement.

“So,” said Bryce, giving you a smile as you heard him come inside and kick off his shoes. “We finally get to see Detective Winchester’s abode.”

“Rookie, you’re late,” said the chief, Bryce holding up a pack of beer. “Your dad better have bought that.”

“Only the best for you chief,” said Bryce, Sam taking the beer and setting it on the back deck with the others. Bryce grabbed a soda and made idle chit chat for a few minutes before he found you and Dean in the kitchen.

“Y/N,” said Bryce. “Detective Winchester.”

“It’s Dean outside work,” said Dean, his voice steady but softer than Bryce was used to. 

“Sorry for being an ass this week,” said Bryce, shuffling on his feet.

“Deserved it,” said Dean as you elbowed him in the ribs. “Ow!”

“Spousal abuse in front of a bunch of cops isn’t very good, Y/N,” said Bryce, taking a sip of his drink.

“Oh my…I hate cops,” you said, the room going silent as you spoke.

“Need backup over there boys?” said Stu as you groaned. 

“Nah, just getting some friendly help,” said Dean, looking down at you. The others turned their attention away as Bryce looked between the two of you curiously. “Sorry for being an asshole the entire time you’ve known me.”

“Dean,” you said. “Say it.”

“Not here,” he said quietly, Bryce looking only a little confused. You nudged him again and he sighed. “I like…that Bryce came today.”

“Dean Winchester,” you growled, watching him roll his eyes.

“I like that I let myself trust you for this not to turn out to be a complete disaster and it’s going well so far,” said Dean. “Now can I go hide in the bathroom until the game comes on?”

“You thought we wouldn’t show?” asked Bryce and for the first time, that little nineteen year old looked bigger and stronger than his age. “You’re our friend, of course we’d come.”

“I know she’s your friend, I-”

“I meant you, Dean,” said Bryce, giving him a smile. “Although you break her heart like that ever again and I’ll punch you in the face. Even if you are bigger than me.”

“I’m positive she’ll have disposed of the body by then if I ever do something that stupid again,” joked Dean, your arm falling around his waist, Dean not trying to pull away like he did so often in front of others. “Thanks Bryce. That means more than you know.”

 

Dean and every other person in the room was currently standing around your family room, jumping up and down, hands on their heads as you sat holding your own hands. 

“No!” the room erupted as you jumped up and hopped around excited.

“Yes!” you squealed. “You lost and you lost and you lost…” you said, pointing at each one of them.

“I can not fathom how you are with a Giants fan,” said Stu, the others joining in agreement.

“Haha, your little Cowboys lost,” you said, standing up on your couch and smiling to Dean, poking him in the chest. You saw his eyes glare at you and knew you were gonna pay for this later.

“Did you see that?” said Dean shaking his head at you. “She touched a police officer without permission. Should have done a more through background check on our office manager. Probably has a record and everything.”

“She actually does,” said the chief and your eyes widened. “Was that not public knowledge?”

“It is now,” said Bryce, your gaze falling to any of them for help and finding none. 

“What’d you do?” asked Dean, smiling.

“It involves you actually,” said the chief, all the heads included yours snapping around.

“ _He was the kid?_ ” you said, tilting your head. “But I was five!”

“What’d she do to me?” asked Dean, more curious than anything.

“She was passing through town with her parents on vacation. Mom sent her in Ollie’s to grab some snacks. She did and paid for them but she stole a loaf of bread and peanut butter. Gave it to the ‘cute boy’ on the bike that said he was hungry,” said the chief. “You weren’t  _really_  charged but we told your parents to have you ask them next time you wanted to help.”

“You always told me  _you_  stole that bread!” said Sam, your head spinning at the distant memory. “You wanted to be a cop because you felt bad about doing it.”

“I wanted to be a cop because kids shouldn’t have to steal so other kids don’t go hungry,” said Dean, turning around to face you. “Didn’t realize I’d fallen in love with a hardened criminal.”

You could have shot back a witty comment but that was the first time Dean had ever said he loved you in front of another person. The faces behind him caught that too.

“Guess I’ll just have to stay under the supervision of an officer such as yourself to make sure I stay in line,” you said, hopping off the couch. “Now who wants another beer?”

 

“Y/N?” Dean asked in bed that night, his lips leaving yours from his slow and sweet kiss goodnight.

“Yeah, Dean?” you asked, his arm around your waist pulling you in close.

“Thank you pretty girl,” he said.

“It was just a little party. We can have more of them if you want,” you said, Dean chuckling.

“Well, I’d like that but that’s not what I meant,” said Dean. “I always wanted to thank the pretty girl who gave me the food I was too scared to steal on my own. I wanted to thank the girl that made sure my little brother wouldn’t go hungry that night. Turns out she’s always been helping me when I get scared.”

“God you’re so fluffy and I love it,” you said, resting your forehead against his.

“Still waiting on that ‘Less Gruff, More Fluff’ shirt you promised,” said Dean, his green eyes locked on yours. 

“I’ll get right on that,” you said, shifting your head the same moment Dean shifted his, both leaning in for a kiss. 

The sound of glass breaking froze you both in place.

“Just me dropping a glass! Don’t come out here and shoot me you nutjobs!” shouted Sam from the kitchen, Dean chuckling.

“I think we caught a break for once,” you said.

“It’s about time,” said Dean. You relaxed and moved forward again with Dean when your eyes flashed opened, catching Dean’s do the same.

“Nutjobs,” you both said at the mention of Sam’s panic word, sitting upright and flying out of bed. Dean grabbed his service weapon and handed you the one from the house he’d trained you on. Dean took the lead out in the hall, you covering his back. You could hear the backdoor swinging open but didn’t dare peel your eyes away until you felt Dean’s hand on your shoulder. You glanced around as you saw no sign of broken glass in the kitchen, Sam’s phone still on the counter.

“Dean, where is he?” you asked, Dean gulping nervously as he walked over to your kitchen table. “You can’t tell me that another undercover assignment or-”

“It’s him,” said Dean, staring at white piece of paper with something on it.

“Him who?” you asked, Dean’s arm quickly on yours and pulling you to get you out of the house.

“Our parents didn’t die in a car accident, Y/N. I lied, to you and to Sam. He was only a baby then,” said Dean, your face scrunching up.

“Him?” you asked, Dean pulling you down the front steps and into Baby in under ten seconds.

“I’ll tell you everything, I promise. But please let me get you somewhere safe first,” he said, cupping your cheek, not allowing himself to let his hand fall away.

“Just don’t lock me up,” you said, not even getting a chance to throw on your seatbelt before Dean was backing up and on the road for the station.

“Sweetheart, I need your help now more than ever.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Detective Winchester has to bring up an old secret if they want to help Sam…

Dean was breathing hard as he sped out of your neighborhood. He was fighting the part of him that wanted to run out and find Sam that second. But he couldn’t do that, not yet. He had to get his head on straight.

“Base?” you said, grabbing the radio off of Dean’s dash, watching him nearly knock himself out after whacking himself in the head for not calling the others in.

“Base over. What’s wrong Y/N?” said Bryce. You sighed, still unclear on the problem yourself. “Little Winchester?”

“Somebody…I don’t know,  _took_  Sam from our house,” you said, trying to keep your voice even as Dean nearly clipped one of the unfortunate cars to be out driving. “Baby, slow down.”

“I have to…fuck, Y/N,” said Dean, gripping the wheel so his knuckles turned white. “Fuck, I promised I wouldn’t let this happen.”

“Dean, slow down. If we die in a car crash we can’t help Sam, can we? It’ll be okay,” you said, running your hand up and down his arm. He sighed and slowed down some. It was a start at least.

“I radio’d the guys in. They’ll be at the station in less than ten,” said Bryce. “What do you…fuck I can hear you coming from inside the building. How many laws did you guys just break getting here?”

Dean was already flinging open his door, tugging you across the bench and out the driver side door before you could answer. 

“I’m right here,” you said quietly, reaching for his hand, finding it shake in yours as you walked toward the entrance.

“I know,” he said, trying his best to make his voice soft but it only came out scared. You’d heard that tone before and it still broke your heart. Dean got you in the building fast and into the back where Bryce sat with wide eyes.

“Guys? There’s shitty luck and then-”

“Put out an APB on Henry Anderson, originally from Rockbridge, in his fifties. Last I heard was at the state penitentiary up north on Route 5,” said Dean, dropping his hand from yours before he went back to the supply closet. Bryce didn’t ask more questions and did as told, Dean returning a few minutes later in some station issued sweats and a hoodie.

“Dean?” you asked, watching as he dropped a bag on your desk.

“You’ll want to change out of your pajamas probably,” he said. You didn’t argue and quickly made your way to the women’s room, exchanging your shorts and thin tee for sweats and boots, a thick long sleeve shirt and a warm hoodie. By the time you were back out, Dean was sitting on top of your desk, staring at the floor. The others had arrived and it seemed as they this was a story Dean only wanted to have to tell once.

You sat beside him, wrapping an arm around his waist. He sighed and brought his head up, holding his own hands as he looked around nervously. Twelve hours ago he thought these people hated him and he was tense even after having a fun day with them.

“Um, I guess I’ll start from the start,” said Dean, relaxing some of his muscles as you ran your hand up and down his side. “Y/N knows my parents died when I was a kid. I was four, almost five. Sam was half a year old I think. I said they were killed in a car accident and that’s what Sam thinks too. Maybe not anymore. I don’t know. Who knows what he’s been told…”

“Focus kid,” said the chief, snapping Dean out of whatever dark path his brain had begun to travel down.

“Yeah, so that was a lie,” said Dean, digging his fingernails into his palms. You reached around with your free hand to unclench his hands, asking him to stop hurting himself. “There was actually a house fire. I woke up and went into the hall when I heard yelling. Our dad came back out with Sam and shoved him in my arms and told me to take care of him and get out of the house. I ran outside and turned around and…and the uh…it was an older house and it started collapsing. Our parents…they didn’t come out.”

“I’m sorry baby,” you said quietly. You understood a bit better why Dean had that need to protect. He’d been doing it all his life.

“I was four so I was freaking the fuck out but I had Sam to watch out for,” said Dean, holding onto your hand. “I went over to our neighbor’s house to get help but this guy…he popped out from between the houses and stopped us from going further. I asked him to help us and he… _he tried to take Sam out of my arms_. I wasn’t letting go, Sam was all I had and the guy…he got pissed. He got a hold of Sam and I kind of hopped on him and started wailing on his back. He reached behind and grabbed me like I was nothing and tossed me aside and said that Sam was his. That pissed  _me_  off more than a kid should be capable of.  _Sam was mine_. Sam is mine. My family, my blood, he’s mine, not some stranger’s.”

“What happened?” asked Stu, glancing over to Bryce’s computer, seeing the alert for Sam be blasted out county wide.

“One of my neighbor’s saw and got Sam back and handed him back to me while he decked the guy. He took off and I never saw him again for years. One of our foster homes had a peeping tom or something and I caught him one day. Same guy that tried to take Sammy. This time he was arrested. I know he set that fire and killed our parents and I know he’s always been trying to take Sam again. I thought we were okay. He’s supposed to be in prison.”

“Looks like he got probation four days ago for working some inside deal and good behavior. Enough time to figure out where Sam was and grab him,” said Lexi, typing at her desk. 

“I never wanted to scare him with this stuff so I never told him. Now he’s gone,” said Dean. 

“We’ll get him back, Dean.”

 

It’d been a week and no sign of anything. It’d gone from county to state to nation wide. No sight of your Sammy or this dick Henry yet. 

“Dean, do you want anything special from the grocery store?” you asked, running your fingers through his hair while he worked away at the kitchen table.

“No sweetie. Let me grab my coat and I’ll come with you,” said Dean. You sighed as he stood and shoved him over towards your bedroom. “What’s wrong?”

“Take a hot shower and a nap. I’ll wake you up when I get home and make some dinner,” you said, Dean’s body turning into a solid wall, preventing you from moving him any further.

“I can’t stop,” said Dean, looking at you with pleading eyes. 

“You’re exhausted, Dean,” you said, rubbing his cheek, dark circles and bags under his eyes, scruff getting thick from where he hadn’t trimmed in a week. “Please take two hours to yourself. We’re no good to Sam if we aren’t thinking clearly.”

“But-”

“Say it,” you said, Dean’s shoulders going lax.

“I’m going to bring Sammy home,” he said. “But I’m not a machine and need to take breaks.”

“Good boy,” you said, wrapping your arms around him. Dean moved you so he could hug you back, holding on almost too tight but it was alright.

“I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have you to take care of me,” said Dean, burying his head in your shoulder. “I was just starting to feel normal, feel like normal people are supposed to and then this had to happen. I’ll never understand why you stay.”

“Because you’re mine,” you said, Dean’s heavy breath ghosting over your neck. “The Winchesters are my family. I’ll never abandon my boys.”

“You too,” mumbled Dean, lifting his head, a sliver of the weight of the past week slipping away. 

“Me too what baby?” you asked, running your fingers through his hair again, Dean melting into your touch.

“You’re our family. You’re Sam’s little sister. You’re my girl. Someday, when this bad is behind us and we’re all together again, I promise, I’ll make you a proper Winchester finally,” said Dean. 

“I still remember when we met. I thought you hated me,” you said, smiling up at those worried green eyes.

“I love you too much to ever think something like that. I’m an idiot most of the time when it comes to us but I’ve always loved you. I’m not so screwed up with you,” said Dean. “I’d be a mess right now if you weren’t here by my side.”

“I’m always with you, Dean,” you said, leaning up to kiss him. He hung onto it longer than normal, not wanting to pull away and come back to reality. “It’ll be okay.”

“Thank you,” he said quietly, watching as you pulled back. “Don’t take too long at the store Little Winchester.”

“I won’t. Be back soon,” you said, gently guiding Dean towards the bedroom again.

“Love you.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Detective Winchester might have a lead on Sam but it comes at a cost…

“Hi, Dean,” you said into your phone as you piled the groceries into your trunk. 

“Hi sweetheart. Everything okay?” asked Dean, an edge to his voice.

“Yes,” you said, putting a smile in your words. “Guess what?”

“What?” he said. “I thought I was supposed to take a nap after my relaxing shower by the way.”

“Did you take a relaxing shower, Dean?” you asked. He hummed on the other end.

“Had to use some of your shampoo though. Apparently we’re out of mine,” said Dean and you knew he was rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t want to make you run back inside but-”

“I grabbed you some shampoo and deodorant. You were running low on that too,” you said, climbing into your car.

“Like I said, always taking care of me,” he chuckled. 

“Hold on a sec,” you said, letting your phone sync up with your car so you could go hands free. “So you haven’t guessed yet.”

“Did you pick up steak or something for dinner?” asked Dean, a poof of air in the background telling you he’d flopped down on your bed. Good. The poor boy needed to relax.

“Even better,” you said. “They had it for once.”

“Pecan? They  _never_  have pecan,” said Dean, a brief smile probably crossing his lips.

“It’s the little stuff,” you said, pulling out onto the road and getting stuck at one of the few lights in town. “I always catch this red.”

“You have horrible luck,” said Dean, hearing the tease in his voice.

“Alright, I’m gonna…” you trailed off, ready to hang up when you saw it. You’d glanced to your left, knowing this light always took forever and there he was, the face you’d seen a million times on posters and on screens, the one you’d committed to memory.

Henry Anderson.

“Dean, I see him. Anderson, he’s in the car right fucking next to me at this light,” you said, trying not to stare and tip him off.

“What kind of car?” asked Dean, bolting up from the sound of your head board smacking the wall and his feet on the floor.

“Maroon. Sedan. Looks older, maybe early 2000s. I can get a plate if I follow-”

“Do not follow that car, understand me?” said Dean, the light going green and the other car taking off.

“Sorry,” you said, going along after it. You told Dean the plate number and knew he was fuming.

“Fine, you got it,” said Dean. “Now get your ass out of there.”

“What if he’s going to where he has Sam?” you asked. “If you were in my position, you’d follow him.”

“Think about it, Y/N,” said Dean, trying to keep his cool. “ _He took down, Sam_. Giant, strong, badass Sam. Don’t get me wrong, you’re a badass in your own right but I cannot risk something happening to you. Please just pull into one of the other stores or something. Please.”

“Dean…” you said, knowing he was heading out of town and you only had a few seconds to make a decision.

“I’m begging you, Y/N. Please,” said Dean, the plead in his voice too strong to ignore. You turned left into the small lot of the hardware store and parked, watching the other car drive off down the road to who knew where.

“I’m in Franklin’s lot,” you said, hands shaking on the wheel. “I need to…I need to calm down before I can drive again.”

“I’ll come get you. Be there in five,” said Dean.

“You don’t have to,” you said, hearing him throw open your closet door and grab some clothes.

“I want to. I’ll get you and we’ll go to the station and…” Dean said but you stopped paying attention and looked out into the distance. 

“I think…I think the car is coming back Dean,” you said, grabbing your phone and stepping outside to get a better look.

“Do not… _did you get out of your car_?” Dean asked, his voice raising as you shut your door.

“Well there’s a bunch of trees and shit in the way! I-” you said, walking over to the passenger side to peer around the shrubs.

“Get the fuck back in your car and drive to the station. That’s an order,” said Dean, things slamming in the background.

“I’ll just go in Franklin’s,” you said, turning around and pretending to grab your purse from the passenger side door as the car came closer. “It’ll look fucking weird if I just get back…”

“Y/N?” you heard Dean shout as you took a step towards the end of your car. 

“He’s pulling into the fucking  _parking lot_. What the fuck do I do?” you asked, knowing you were panicking. Dean was telling you to calm down and just get in your car but you already knew he’d seen you. “Oh shit.”

“Y/N!” Dean shouted through the phone as you scrambled into your car, the maroon one not pulling into a space but instead coming to a stop behind yours, blocking you in.

“I’m in the damn car and he’s blocked…oh God he’s getting out of the car,” you said, climbing into the drivers seat and turning the engine on.

“Put it in reverse and gun it,” said Dean. You did as told but there’s was no space for you even back up into and get some kind of momentum going. There was a solid cement wall in front of you that gave you no other option. “Y/N?”

“I’m fucked,” you said, Anderson standing a few feet away from your door with an amused look. 

“I radio’d Bryce. There should be someone there in two minutes, sweetheart,” said Dean, the sound of Baby’s engine revving in the background. “I’m coming for you.”

“Dean…” you said, watching as he walked over and curled his finger, telling you to get out. “It’s a maroon car and he was heading west, towards a bunch of the old farmhouses. That’s probably where Sam is…where I’ll be if I’m lucky.”

“Y/N, I am not letting this psycho get you too,” said Dean. You heard him wince in time with you as Anderson used a crowbar and smashed through your window. “Y/N!”

“Sorry darlin’ but you’re coming with me,” said Anderson, grabbing you by the arm and pulling you out of your car. You swung your right fist and connected with his jaw. You put up a pretty decent fight actually and managed to scamper away at one point. “I’m done playing,” he said, grabbing you and tossing you to the ground.

You could still hear Dean shouting through your phone as you saw the fist come down and you knew he was about to enter a whole new level of Hell.

 

“Rise and shine darlin’,” said a voice that made your skin crawl. You were groggy from being knocked out and stumbled on your feet as you were pulled out of a trunk. 

“Mmphf hmf,” you mumbled under the tape over your mouth. 

“Was that supposed to be a ‘Fuck you’? I don’t tolerate that kind of language,” he said, shoving you over so you feel on your arms bound behind your back. He kneeled down over you before holding up a knife. “Behave. I’m not sure if I want to kill you yet or not. I think Sam might be happier with a friend though. We’ll see.”

It was nighttime by now and you couldn’t see that well but knew at least your farmhouse theory had been correct. You were led inside and down a musty hall and then another before coming to a door that looked reinforced. Anderson undid a few bolts and the door flung open. The two of you went down a set of stairs to find a mostly empty basement.

Apart from Sam laying on a mattress in the corner facing the wall, something on his ankle tethering him to the spot.

“Hiya Sammy,” said Anderson and you saw the shake run through Sam’s body. God, you hoped Dean could find the two of you quick. “Brought you a present.”

“Go away,” said Sam quietly, still in his now filthy pajamas from over a week ago. 

“Sammy-”

“Stop calling me that!” Sam shouted as he spun around and sat up. His gaze landed on you and everything in his demeanor changed. “Let her go.”

“Sam, I can’t do that. She saw me,” said Anderson, leading you over to the corner opposite Sam and pushing you down.

“Let. Her. Go,” said Sam. Your captor looked more than a little surprised at Sam’s tone.

“Here I thought you were starting to be good for me, Sammy,” he said, wrapping something around one of your ankles before releasing you. You ripped the tape off your mouth and went to throw another punch but he’d barely given you enough room to lay down and he was quickly out of reach. “Teach her the rules. Next time she’s out of line,  _either_  of you are out of line, you both get it.”

Sam didn’t retort as he watched the man walk back up the stairs and lock the door behind him. 

“Are you okay?” you asked, standing and trying to take a step over to him but finding your foot catch. You tugged on it but it was a thick industrial cable you wouldn’t be getting it off anytime soon.

“Not really,” said Sam, shifting over to be as close as he could. “Probably not what you wanted to hear.”

“No, but I wasn’t expecting you to say you were having the time of your life,” you said, forcing a smile on your face.

“You look like you were in a bar fight. Dean’d be proud,” said Sam, reaching over with one of his long arms to wipe some blood away from your face.

“Dean’ll kill me if this guy doesn’t,” you said, using your shirt to wipe your face off as best you could. “I was stupid and followed the car when I saw it was Anderson.”

“You weren’t stupid, Y/N,” said Sam, putting a hand on your shoulder. 

“Yes I was. If I hadn’t followed it, he never would have seen me. Dean is going to murder me when he finds us,” you said, looking around. If Sam hadn’t found a way out yet you certainly weren’t going to.

“First off, you were trying to save me so relax. It’s my fault this happened anyways,” said Sam, letting his hand slip away.

“No it’s not. It’s mine,” you said, turning to see Sam with a sad smile.

“Don’t go all Dean on me Y/N. When I say my fault…” said Sam, rubbing his hands against his head. “This guy is a fucking psycho, wants me to be his kid or family or something. Well, I’ve already got one with you and Dean so I told him to go screw himself. He said earlier today he was going to go get me something to try and make me happy. I really don’t think you followed him, Y/N. I think he was _waiting_  to get you alone so he could take you too. I think…I think he was coming after you whether you knew it or not.”

“If that’s true, it’s still not your fault. It’s no one’s fault,” you said, turning over your scratched up hands. 

“Were you getting close? To finding this place?” asked Sam. You shook your head, even if you thought Dean might have a chance now. It could take ages to find you and you didn’t want Sam to have false hope. It wasn’t like there weren’t about fifty farms heading west or anything. “I just want to go home.”

“Dean’ll save us. I just hope he doesn’t lose himself along the way when he does.”

 

**Dean’s POV**

“Detective Winchester?” asked Bryce, handing me a cup of coffee as I sat behind Y/N’s desk.

“Thanks, rookie,” I said, taking the styrofoam cup from him. I downed most of it in one shot, even if it burned and had no cream or sugar. Y/N always put those in for me. I couldn’t think about stuff like that if I was getting them back. 

“They aren’t going to take you off the case,” said Bryce, looking around to the outside officers who were working away at developing a search plan.

“Conflict of interest much? They barely let me stay on when it was just Sam. Y/N too? They’re afraid I’m going to go in guns blazing,” I said, finding Y/N’s stress ball off her desk and squeezing it hard. “Fuck, Bryce, I don’t even know if she’s alive.”

“It’s Y/N. She isn’t going down without a fight,” said Bryce, pulling over a chair and taking a seat nearby. “Come on. We’ll stop at the diner for a quick dinner and then come back.”

“Bryce, I don’t need-”

“Excuse me but I wasn’t exactly asking, Detective Winchester,” said Bryce, crossing his arms. “You going to let me take care of you like Y/N and Sam would want or are you going to stew and make things worse?”

“Thanks Cas,” I said after a moment, seeing the confused look on Bryce’s face. “What? You didn’t think I knew your last name or something Castiel?”

“I just…you always call me rookie or Bryce,” he said, running a hand through his short black hair.

“If you’re going to insist on calling me Detective Winchester at work then I should start calling you Officer Castiel. You’re not a rookie anymore. Not after this,” I said. 

“Thanks Dean,” he said. “You’ve got to be the strangest best friend I’ve ever had.”

“Come on,” I said standing up, trying not to let it show that no one had ever called me their best friend before. No one apart from the two people who were depending on me to save them. “Let’s grab a bite and then get back to work.”

“Sounds like a plan.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reader and Sam think of happier things to distract themselves from their situation…

You understood why Sam had been curled up in a ball, back to the door and staring at the wall when you first entered that basement. You’d been kidnapped before but at most, it lasted three hours tops. This…it’d been a week for you and this was very much a mental battle at this point. Sam…you weren’t sure how he was doing it after being trapped for so long.

“Y/N,” Sam said, breaking the silence from his corner for the first time in hours that day.

“Yeah Sammy,” you said, not bothering to move from where you’d tucked into yourself.

“Tell me a story. I want to forget about this place for a few minutes,” said Sam quietly.

“What kind of story?” you asked, scratching at your arm and trying to not peel up an almost healed scab in the same motion.

“Something about you and Dean. How’d you meet or fall in love with him. It’s Dean after all. He doesn’t exactly make friends or let people in. You were his first real girlfriend I’m pretty sure,” said Sam.

“Really?” you asked, turning yourself around. You stayed laying down but Sam had shifted too and for a second you thought of yourselves at a middle school sleepover talking about boys.

“I mean Dean had been with girls and stuff,” said Sam, watching you smile.

“He’s hot as fuck, Sam. Of course he’s been with other woman,” you said, watching the eye roll on Sam. Yeah, he was definitely getting distracted which was good for the both of you at the moment.

“Those were all one night stand type of things. He’d never called me before and asked what the hell he’s supposed to wear for a first date,” said Sam. “It was the first time we talked in a long time actually. I guess I have you to thank for getting us back in touch.”

“Thanks Sammy. I can’t believe he called you for advice on that,” you said, remembering your first dinner with Dean after the big storm in town. 

“Yup. He said it wasn’t all formal so I said just do a clean pair of jeans and-”

“His blue plaid shirt with a gray tee. It’s blueish gray actually,” you said, smiling to yourself.

“Must have made some kind of impression,” teased Sam. “Alright. Story time, let’s go Little Winchester.”

“How did I fall in love with your rough and tough big brother?” you asked, Sam smirking.

“Stop stalling. Your secret’s safe with me that you fell for a dork like him,” said Sam. 

“Dean annoyed the absolute shit out of me every day for six, seven weeks. Drove me nuts,” you said, Sam raising an eyebrow. “Really, that actually happened. I mean I gave it right back. But no matter how much his stupid face bugged me, I just…I knew he was a good cop, an incredible cop. He had to be a good man too. I wasn’t looking for what we became. I wanted to try and get along was all.”

“Did he give you puppy dog eyes in the break room?” asked Sam, enjoying the blush on your face.

“No, Sam,” you said, trying to think of the exact moment you knew but unable to place it. “I just…one night I was getting ready for bed and it hit me. I couldn’t remember a time when I didn’t think about that man before going to sleep. They weren’t annoying things like stealing my yogurt either. It was how he helped find a kid’s missing dog on his lunch break or the hand on a shoulder when someone’s house got broken into. He didn’t have to do those things. He was good.”

“So he was nice?” asked Sam. Damn the boy wanted you to get sappy with this.

“I started to notice he did a lot of good things,” I said. “Why the Hell do you notice stuff like that with a person you supposedly hate? Well, I didn’t hate him, I just told myself that. I knew I was acting as much like a child as Dean was, putting up some front for who knew what reason. I don’t have the same baggage as you guys but…maybe it was because Dean can be intimidating at times. I don’t know. I just knew I was beginning to think about Dean a lot and have a lot of ‘what if’s’ and ‘I wonders’ and I honestly don’t know why. The only explanation I’ve ever come up with was that I knew before  _I knew_  that this was going to work.”

“Then the storm happened, right?” asked Sam, looking calm for probably the first time in weeks.

“Mhm,” you said. “Dean had been doing the same type of thing in his own way. But he let that wall down and he let it down for me. It scared him to have someone affect him in that way I think. We got through the night and the next day, we went on that date. The rest was easy.”

“It’s  _never_  been easy with you two. I mean, how many times has he broken up with you?” asked Sam, looking for a different response from you.

“Two. Always to protect me though. You want to know what happened when we realized you were…” you trailed off.

“Did he try to do it again?” asked Sam. You smiled and Sam returned one.

“No. We’ve got him past that,” you said, Sam relaxing. “He asked me for help actually, that he needed me with him. I’ve been so proud of him.”

“We’re getting our guy better,” said Sam. “Thank you for helping me Y/N. I needed you to help me help Dean. I’ve tried in the past and it just…he pushed me away too.”

“We got to look out for our guy,” you said. “I just hope he’s listening to Bryce right now.”

“Rookie Castiel will get him through this,” said Sam. For a few seconds you and Sam were happy to reminisce. Soon the knock came at the door and you heard the bolts be undone. You groaned and tucked back into your ball, hearing Sam do the same. “We’ve been good, don’t worry. He won’t hurt us again.”

“I just want Dean,” you said quietly. You were tired of living with wondering if every time that door opened you were about to be killed. 

“Me too,” said Sam, hearing footsteps pound across the cement floor. You flinched, readying yourself for whatever was coming your way.

“I want you guys too,” said a deep voice you’d missed like crazy. You spun around on your bed, Sam doing the same. In front of you was a tired but relieved looking Dean, Bryce and a few SWAT members trickling down the stairs after him. 

“Hey,” said Sam, the disbelief written all over his face, the quake in his voice making Dean wince slightly.

“Hi,” you said, Dean giving you a sad smile as he caught sight of your healing bruises. He sighed heavily as someone started working on freeing you, another person doing the same for Sam.

“I’m going to take you guys home.”

 

“Alright, you two,” said Dean, throwing a blanket over Sam’s shoulders after helping him get to the kitchen table later that day, after all the police and hospitals were dealt with. “We don’t have any groceries so pizza and fries for dinner.”

You were salivating the second Dean took the box from the delivery guy. It could be covered in anchovies and pineapples and you wouldn’t have cared.

“That’s fine with us,” you and Sam said in unison. Dean chuckled but quickly frowned. 

“Didn’t have much in the way of great food I’m guessing,” he said, making up plates for the two of you.

“I never want to eat another cracker for as long as I live,” said Sam. “Or chicken broth.”

“I just want some food,” you said, hearing the whine in your own voice. Dean picked up his pace before setting down a plate of way too much in front of you. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, picking up the blanket that had slipped off your shoulders and tying it around your neck, kissing your cheek carefully in the same motion. You gave Sam a smile as Dean walked around the table and made sure his blanket wouldn’t fall either.

“Thank you,” said Sam, looking down at his plate, a sigh escaping him. Dean ruffled his hair gently and gave you a smile.

“It’s okay. You’re home now,” said Dean, Sam nodding to himself. Dean took a seat as you and Sam ate quickly, keeping a careful eye on you. “This has got to be funny for you two,” he said when you’d finally finished.

“I do enjoy eating at a table again,” said Sam. Dean chuckled as he decided to move this conversation to the family room. He gave Sam one couch to himself, undoing his blanket and tossing it over him.

“Your turn,” said Dean, holding your arm but letting you walk yourself for the most part. Dean put you on the other couch, covering you before sitting you up so you could lay your head in his lap. 

“So what’s funny?” you asked, snuggling into Dean’s leg.

“Nothing sweetheart,” said Dean, running a hand over your healing cheek.

“We took care of him. Now he’s taking care of us,” said Sam. He yawned and nuzzled into his blanket. 

“You can go to sleep too, Y/N,” said Dean, pulling his legs up on an ottoman to stretch out. “We all had a long day. I’m not going to let anything happen to you guys.”

“Okay baby,” you said quietly, knowing you didn’t have to be afraid anymore.

“You’re safe,” you heard Dean say. “I promise.”

 

One Month Later

“Y/N, can you help me with something in the kitchen?” you heard Dean say. 

“Excuse me,” you said to Lexi, milling away from the party goers to find Dean looking perplexed. “What’s up?”

“I can’t find…” said Dean, spinning around. “I need your help finding something.”

“Okay. Can you tell me what-” you said, Dean grabbing your hand and pulling you down the hall and to your bedroom. “…what you’re looking for?”

“I was looking for you actually,” said Dean, closing the door.

“Dean, we have guests,” you said, nodding to the bed. “We can save that for later.”

“I just wanted to ask you something,” said Dean, smiling and rocking back and forth on his heels. 

“Wait,” you said, watching as Dean took a step forward. “This isn’t a normal party, is it.”

“Nothing gets past my Little Winchester.”

 

By the time the party had ended and Sam had run off to bed after issuing a million congratulations, you were staring down at a pair of perfect green eyes feeling on top of the world. 

“Hi,” said Dean, breaking your goofy stare.

“When you first tossed the coffee pot at me, did you think we’d make it this far?” you asked, running your fingers through his soft strands.

“Oh, you sweet little thing. You never realized,” said Dean, sitting up and pulling you to lay on top of him. “I fell the second I saw you. I asked Cas if you were his girlfriend remember? I had to know if I had a chance.”

“So  _that’s_  why you were an ass,” you said, Dean’s arms falling around your back. 

“I wasn’t good with people. You on the other hand are good at saving them when they don’t know they need it,” he said.

“You’re good at saving too,” you said, tucking into his chest.

“You doing okay? I haven’t had a chance to check in since this morning,” said Dean. You hummed. You still jumped a little when the doorbell rang and had the occasional nightmare that left you clinging to Dean but for the most part, you’d been doing good.

“Yeah. Sam’s okay too,” you said. “What about you? We didn’t do it yet today.”

“I like that I let you into my life. You have given me so much more than just an amazing woman to call my future wife. I got friends, a best friend. I got Sammy back after we drifted apart. You gave me a family. Allowing myself to like you has got to be the best thing I’ve ever done,” said Dean.

“I think it’s up there but maybe not the best thing you’ve done,” you said. “You did something even more incredible than that this past month.”

“Saving you from that farmhouse wasn’t-”

“You let Cas take care of you when I know you had to have lost your shit when I was taken. You didn’t push me and Sam away for our safety when you found us. Sam and I…we needed you and still need you. You cared for us by being there, dealing with us that first week back and I know Sam and I weren’t in great places. You’ve grown so much since I’ve met you Dean. I think that’s pretty damn incredible.”

“Let’s just agree that I’m awesome and you’ve been a big part of that,” said Dean. 

“Deal,” you said, tilting your head up to find your lips close to his.

“I hope you’re ready to go onto this next part of our lives because I sure I am,” said Dean. “No more craziness.”

“Even if there is, I’ll be by your side,” you said. You pressed a drawn out kiss to the pink lips before you, curling your own up when they made the same motion.

“Thank you, Y/N. For everything.”


End file.
